All three specialized intensive care units at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital,
including the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU),
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), have each achieved a gold-level Beacon Award for Excellence in patient care from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). Gold is the highest level of Beacon Award recognition.
Nicklaus Children’s is one of only two freestanding pediatric hospitals in the nation to have achieved the status of having three ICUs awarded gold-level Beacon Awards. The Beacon Award for Excellence recognizes unit caregiver teams that successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards. Units that achieve this three-year, three-level award with gold, silver or bronze designations meet national criteria consistent with Magnet Recognition, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award.
“We are honored to be recognized once again by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses for the quality of care in our three intensive care units,” said Jackie Gonzalez, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, part of Miami Children’s Health System. “I am truly proud of our nursing teams and their steadfast commitment to providing the best care possible to the patients and families we serve.”
The gold-level Beacon Award for Excellence signifies excellent and sustained unit performance and patient outcomes. Both the NICU and PICU have previously earned gold-level status, while the CICU has been a silver-level recipient previously.
Nicklaus Children’s CICU is one of a few cardiac intensive care units dedicated to children in the nation. The unit provides highly specialized pre-and post-operative care for children undergoing cardiac surgery and interventional catheterization. Innovative therapies available in the CICU include nitric oxide (an inhaled medication used to relax blood vessels), new inotropic agents and mechanical cardiac assist technology, and bedside lab testing and results.
Nicklaus Children’s NICU is one of the few Level III neonatal units in the region. It cares for some of the tiniest and most clinically challenging neonates. The excellence of the 37-bed unit is the reason that Nicklaus Children’s is consistently ranked among the best in the nation for neonatology by
U.S. News & World Report.
Nicklaus Children’s PICU features one of the largest and most experienced pediatric and
neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) resources for children with life-threatening heart and lung conditions in Florida. The PICU at Nicklaus Children’s receives nearly 300 critically ill patients each year, many referred from other hospitals.
For more information about the nursing programs at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, please visit
www.nicklauschildrens.org/nursing
About the Beacon Award for Excellence
Established in 2003, the Beacon Award for Excellence offers a road map to help guide exceptional care through improved outcomes and greater overall patient satisfaction. U.S. or Canadian units where patients receive their principal nursing care after hospital admission qualify for this excellence award. Units that receive the Beacon Award for Excellence meet criteria in six categories: leadership structures and systems; appropriate staffing and staff engagement; effective communication, knowledge management, learning and development; evidence-based practice and processes; and outcome measurement. To learn more, visit
www.aacn.org/beacon or call (800) 899-2226.
About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
Founded in 1969 and based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. AACN joins together the interests of more than 500,000 acute and critical care nurses and claims more than 235 chapters worldwide. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. To learn more about AACN, visit
www.aacn.org, connect with the organization on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/aacnface or follow AACN on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/aacnme.
About Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Where Children Matter Most (2024)
Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is South
Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with approximately
850 attending physicians, including more than 500 pediatric subspecialists. The 307-bed
hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine with many specialty programs
routinely ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. The
hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern
United States and since 2003 has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing
Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession’s most prestigious institutional
honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org.