Critical Care Nurses Receive Recognition from Advance for Nurses Magazine

AGH placed first in the region for initiative: superior personalized care given to patients and their families in the Ocean City area for vacation.

Atlantic General Hospital’s Critical Care Unit nursing team recently received an award from Advance for Nurses magazine for being a finalist for its 2007 Best Nursing Team Award.
With recognition typically awarded to major medical centers in larger urban areas, Atlantic General Hospital is the first healthcare organization of its size to be chosen as a finalist by the magazine, a leader in its field with a circulation of nearly 850,000 readers.

Although a runner-up, Atlantic General’s critical care nurses placed first overall in the category of initiative. The quality of personalized care given to patients and their families who are visiting the Ocean City area for vacation was cited as a determining factor.

“I can’t imagine what it must be like to be on vacation and have a family member end up in critical care,” said Monica French, a registered nurse in Atlantic General’s Critical Care Unit who submitted the application to Advance for Nurses. “A lot of emotional support is required. Often times, these patients are way from their regular medical care providers, they’re not at their best, and it’s important to care for all of them – patients and family members.”

The nurses who win these awards are from different fields, but they all have a certain kind of spirit, French said. “I thought, ‘we have that.’ So I applied, thinking what a moral booster it would be.”

Atlantic General Hospital submitted their application along with other healthcare organizations in the PA, southern NJ, and DE region.