About
System

Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Riverside Regional Medical Center Earns Silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence

August 18, 2022
SICU Press Release

Riverside Health System is pleased to announce that the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) at Riverside Regional Medical Center (RRMC) has earned the Silver Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, recognizing consistently high achievement in quality and safety. 

The Beacon Award for Excellence, a significant milestone on the path to exceptional patient care, recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes every day. Units that achieve this three-year, three-level award with a gold, silver or bronze designation meet national criteria consistent with the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award.

“As a Level II trauma center and the peninsula’s only comprehensive stroke center, RRMC offers all levels of medical, surgical and specialty intensive care for those who are acutely or critically ill,” says Sadie Thurman, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer for Riverside Regional Medical Center. “We know that our patients and community members hope they will never require surgical intensive care, but if so, the Beacon designation provides added assurance that their loved ones are in excellent hands with our critical care nursing team.” 

The 18-bed SICU cares for patients with acute, life-threatening or potentially life-threatening surgical conditions such as trauma, complicated vascular surgeries, neurosurgery, neurointervention surgeries after a stroke and cardiothoracic surgery. The unit’s professional nursing team includes more than 65 registered nurses at the bedside who work closely with the interdisciplinary surgical critical care team. 

“We are honored to receive the silver distinction and be recognized for our efforts by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses,” says Chris Mitchell, Director of Critical Care Nursing and Riverside Regional Medical Center. “The Beacon Award for Excellence is a testament to our team’s commitment to providing safe, patient-centered and evidence-based care for our patients and their families.” 

To learn more about RRMC, visit riversideonline.com/rrmc