Hospital leadership including President and CEO Eric Carney and Chief Nursing Officer Darla Harmer gather with Emergency Department staff members.
Long Branch, N.J. – Monmouth Medical Center (MMC) is one of 34 U.S. hospitals to be honored by the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) with their Lantern Award, which recognizes emergency departments that demonstrate exceptional and innovative performance in leadership, practice, education, advocacy, and research.
The award recipients were announced publicly on July 13th and will be recognized at the Hall of Honor awards ceremony October 2nd in Denver.
The ENA Lantern Award application focuses on innovative practices and noteworthy attributes of the emergency department, collaborative approaches to delivering optimal care for patients, performance and outcome metrics, characteristics of the nursing team, and facility and emergency department demographics. It distinguishes an emergency department’s commitment to quality, safety, and presence of a healthy work environment.
“This award is such a testament to you and your team – to be able to achieve this award during one of the most challenging times in health care, you should be so proud,” ENA President Jennifer Schmitz said in announcing MMC’s award. “To be able to keep your team engaged and on track despite the challenges of the pandemic is so remarkable.”
In 2021, the MMC Emergency Department received the Crisis Response Team Award from the New Jersey chapter of the ENA in recognition of the department’s significant contributions and response to the challenges of the public health crisis stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Recognition with the Lantern Award is such a great reward for our team,” said Sharmine Brassington, PhD (c), MSN, RN, Administrative Director of Emergency Services. “They are a focused and dedicated team, especially with COVID-19, they exemplify altruism, resiliency and endurance —showing up to work every day to provide culturally competent and congruent care to our patients.”
Chief Nursing Officer Darla Harmer, MSN, RN, NE-BC, noted that the Emergency Department’s patient satisfaction scores have been consistently high despite the challenges of COVID-19.
“Our team prioritizes patient care from the time of arrival,” she said. “The Lantern Award serves as a visible symbol to our community that excellence is valued, and that exceptional care is provided in our Emergency Department.”
CONTACT: Kathy Horan
(732) 546-6317
Kathy.Horan@rwjbh.org