The Emergency Nurses Association will bestow the Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital Emergency Department with its prestigious Lantern Award. The department is one of only 19 Emergency Departments in the U.S. and the only one in Illinois to receive the award for this three-year cycle (2018 – 2021).
The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) Lantern Award recognizes emergency departments that demonstrate exceptional and innovative performance in leadership, practice, education, advocacy and research. It is awarded to hospitals that incorporate evidence-based practice and innovation into emergency care.
“This award highlights the Central DuPage Hospital Emergency Department staff and their dedication to patients first, and it shines the light on their integrity, teamwork and excellence,” says Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital Senior Vice President and Flinn Family Chief Nurse Executive Deb O’Donnell, MS, RN.
The ENA Lantern Award is named in honor of Florence Nightingale, who is credited with changing nursing from an untrained job to a skilled, science-based profession. She is referred to as the “Lady of the Lamp” for her actions during the Crimean War when she worked deep into the night, bringing a lantern with her as she tended to wounded British soldiers as they slept.
“The Lantern Award acts as a visible symbol to patients that the receiving emergency department values excellence and delivers exceptional care,” said ENA President Jeff Solheim, MSN, RN. “It shines a light on that emergency department’s commitment to providing safe practice and safe care.”
Lantern Award recipients will be recognized this September at the largest emergency nursing conference in the nation, Emergency Nursing 2018.