NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County Earns Coveted Pathway to Excellence Designation for its Commitment to its Nurses
First hospital in Brooklyn to achieve recognition for its commitment to positive practice environment and culture of sustained excellence
Only 201 health care organizations in the world have earned the designation
Oct 21, 2022
New York, NY
NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County announced that it had received the prestigious Pathway to Excellence designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County is the first hospital in Brooklyn, and only the second facility in New York City to receive recognition. The Pathway designation is a global recognized credential that confirms NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County’s commitment to creating a healthy work environment where nurses feel empowered and valued. The Pathway to Excellence program uses a rigorous process to evaluate continuous improvement in the areas of shared decision-making, leadership, safety, quality, well-being, and professional development. Further, it recognizes facilities where nurses are engaged and involved in all facets of the hospital – resulting in improved patient outcomes, better safety, higher job satisfaction, and reduced turnover. The hospital joins a group of just 201 health care organizations in the world who have earned the designation.
“Nurses are at the heart of our mission to provide high quality health services and compassionate care for all New Yorkers, and this influential designation is a welcome acknowledgment of our commitment to crafting a culture of nursing excellence throughout our health care system,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Senior Vice President, Chief Nursing Executive Natalia Cineas, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. “The past two years have been a period of transformative change for NYC Health + Hospitals, a time in which we have successfully engaged and empowered the nursing staff and leadership throughout our system, building a firm foundation for our new Professional Practice and Care Delivery Model, and supporting the implementation of Professional Shared Governance Evidence-Based Practice system-wide. We applaud and support Kings County and its contributions to our nursing professional practice environment, helping us navigate a constantly-changing health care landscape. Earning the Pathway designation signifies that Kings County is elevating our overall nursing practice, serving as an important example of the future of health care delivery.”
“The Pathway to Excellence designation is akin to receiving an Olympic medal,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “It symbolizes being at the absolute top of the nursing profession nationally and globally, but also represents the years of hard work and training and planning it took to get there. It’s not just this award that is cause for celebration, but the way our nurses engage in and deliver patient care every single day. They are happier, and our patients are happier and healthier as a result! Congratulations to NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County for this special honor.”
“Kings County nurses are resilient, engaged, empowered, they work together, and more importantly, they are committed to elevating nursing practice to the highest level to improve patient outcomes,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County Chief Nursing Officer Opal Sinclair-Chung, RN, BSN, MS, MSNE. “They advance themselves by getting educated and updated with the latest evidence-based practice and research, and apply these in their practice. When our nurses set a goal, they’re focused and won’t stop until they get it done. Nurses at Kings County understand that patients are the center of our being. We exist because of them. We advocate for them and are committed to their safety at all times. We believe in working together, engaging in inter-professional collaboration, and creating a culture of person- and family-centered care, driven by Kings County’s strong mission, vision, values, and goals.”
“Our nurses know that our patients are at the core of who we are,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County CEO Sheldon McLeod. “Our nurses’ greatest strength in providing superior care to our patients is their ability to communicate with them in an effective and empathic manner, ensuring our patients receive the highest-quality care possible. As a Pathway to Excellence-recognized organization, we have established that our nursing leadership promotes a collaborative culture and that our policies consider nursing input when putting patient and staff safety first. Our CNO, Opal Sinclair-Chung, drives our nurse’s culture at Kings County of sustained excellence, supporting the nurses’ resiliency, engagement, empowerment, teamwork, and, most importantly, their dedication to providing the best possible care to enhance patient outcomes.”
The Pathway to Excellence designation recognizes NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County and its nurses for their efforts to enhance quality of care and the patient experience. To qualify for the designation, NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County worked closely with health system nursing leadership to prepare a thorough application detailing the six Pathway Standards along with implementing initiatives that were integrated into NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County’s practices, policies, and culture. After review and approval of the application, NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County nurses completed a confidential online survey confirming that the program’s standards have been incorporated into nursing practice at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County.
The ANCC Pathway to Excellence designation indicates that NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County has successfully adopted the ANCC’s Pathway Standards into the hospitals’ daily practice and culture, thereby nurturing optimal practice environment These Pathway Standards include: shared decision-making; leadership; safety; quality, well-being and professional development. More information about the Pathway to Excellence recognition program can be found on ANCC’s website.
###
MEDIA CONTACT: Alexis Davis, NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County , 718-245-3910
The ANCC Pathway to Excellence Program® and ANCC Pathway to Excellence in Long Term Care® name and logos are registered trademarks of the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Pathway to Excellence®, Journey to Nursing Excellence™, and ANCC Pathway to Excellence Conference® are trademarks of the American Nurses Credentialing Center. All rights reserved.
About NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County
NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County is a 639-bed acute care teaching hospital located in Central Brooklyn. Among our highly specialized programs are a Level I Trauma Center, Pediatric Emergency Room, Level 3 Perinatal Center, Heart Health Center, Stroke Center, Sickle Cell Program, Behavioral Health Center, and Diabetes Education Center of Excellence. Many of our programs have received national recognition, including our cardiac, stroke and diabetes services. The hospital offers a broad array of primary and specialty care, including practices in neuroscience, orthopedics, urology and cardiology. Annually, our ambulatory care practices see well over 500,000 visits, and more than 150,000 visits in the Behavioral Health outpatient program, in addition to close to 23,000 inpatient discharges. NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County has played a major role in providing health care to vulnerable populations in Brooklyn since 1831, and is part of NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest public health care system in the nation. For more information visit, nychealthandhospitals.org/kingscounty and stay connected on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KingsCountyHosp or Twitter at @KingsCountyHosp.
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NYCHealthandHospitals or Twitter at @NYCHealthSystem.