MILFORD, CT (January 15, 2026) – The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has recognized the Progressive Care Unit (PCU) and the Medical-Coronary Intensive Care Unit (MICU) at Bridgeport Hospital with silver-level Beacon Awards for Excellence.
The national award recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards, which include skilled communication, true collaboration, effective decision-making, appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition and authentic leadership.
“This recognition reflects the exceptional care delivered by two units that consistently place patients at the center of everything they do,” said Anne Diamond, DBA, JD, president of Bridgeport Hospital. “It underscores the commitment of our caregivers, the strength of our care environment and a unified, evidence-based approach that drives our culture, patient outcomes and nursing excellence.”
The silver-level Beacon Awards for Excellence earned by the PCU and MICU show an effective and systematic approach to policies, procedures and processes that include engagement of staff and key stakeholders; fact-based evaluation strategies for continuous process improvement; and performance measures that meet or exceed relevant benchmarks.
“We are incredibly proud of our PCU and MICU teams for earning the AACN Beacon Award for Excellence,” said Anne Aquila, DNP, RN, director of Wounds & Critical Care at Bridgeport Hospital. “This recognition honors the high-quality care and unwavering dedication they demonstrate every day in providing compassionate, evidence-based care to our patients.”
Bridgeport Hospital, part of Yale New Haven Health, is a non-profit 501-bed acute care hospital with two campuses (plus 42 beds licensed to Yale New Haven Children's Hospital). Its Bridgeport and Milford Campuses serve patients from across the region. The hospital admits more than 23,000 patients and provides nearly 350,000 outpatient treatments annually. The Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital is the only burn center in the state and one of only 64 verified burn centers in the United States. Bridgeport Hospital is committed to providing safe, compassionate and cost efficient care to its patients and the community. www.bridgeporthospital.org
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. and 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, and 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: For more than 50 years, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has been dedicated to acute and critical care nursing excellence. 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. AACN is the world’s largest specialty nursing organization, with about 130,000 members and over 200 chapters in the United States.
