Mercy Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Receives American Association for Critical Care Nurses’ Gold-Level Beacon Award for Excellence

Mercy Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has received a Gold-Level Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), distinguishing the unit’s exceptional patient care and healthy work environment. 

The Beacon Award for Excellence recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards. The Beacon Award represents outstanding care in a unit that prioritizes patients, offering a meaningful recognition for both patients and their families. For nurses, it signifies a positive, supportive work environment that fosters collaboration, boosts morale and reduces turnover.

The Mercy NICU is a Level III intensive-care nursery that delivers comprehensive care for babies who are born prematurely, babies born with congenital anomalies and any baby who requires special monitoring and care in the newborn period.

“The Gold-Level Beacon Award is further evidence of Mercy’s commitment to the mission of the Sisters of Mercy—to care for those most vulnerable and in need,” said Dr. David Maine, president and CEO, Mercy Health Services. “This award is well-earned. Mercy’s NICU team of dedicated specialists deliver exceptional patient and family-centered care in a private, homelike environment, each and every day,” Dr. Maine said.

According to Susan J. Dulkerian, M.D., chair of Mercy's department of pediatrics and medical director of newborn services in The Family Childbirth and Children’s Center, Mercy was one of the first hospitals in the Baltimore area to offer private NICU rooms, which allow parents to stay by their baby’s bedside and continue the bonding process.

“The all-private NICU rooms in our hospital allow for individualized developmental care and create a more natural environment, closer to what the baby will experience at home. What our NICU offers newborns and their families, and the exemplary care our staff provides, speak to why Mercy should be recognized with the Gold-Level Beacon Award,” Dr. Dulkerian said.

Featured on national television on the Discovery Health Network documentary-style program, NICU, Mercy’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit features a dedicated and professional staff including: 

• Neonatologists (pediatricians who are newborn intensive care specialists)
• Neonatal nurse practitioners and nurses
• Respiratory therapists
• Social workers
• Audiologists
• Occupational and physical therapists
• Developmental specialists
• Lactation consultants 

As a Level III NICU, Mercy provides care for babies of any birth weight and gestational age who experience the following conditions:

• Prematurity
• Respiratory distress syndrome and other respiratory disorders
• Infection
• Complications of the infant of a diabetic mother
• Congenital anomalies, including congenital heart disease
• In-utero growth problems
• Disorders of the central nervous system
• Substance exposure

“The NICU at Mercy is equipped with the latest technologies to diagnose, monitor and treat newborn diseases and conditions. Our NICU provides most types of neonatal intensive care, with the exception of major surgery,” Dr. Dulkerian explained.

Founded in 1969 and based in Aliso Viejo, California, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. 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.