Hospital earns Pathway to Excellence designation

November 30, 2022 Jaime DeJesus

South Brooklyn Health workers celebrate in the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital Lobby.

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There was a celebratory atmosphere Monday when NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health received the Pathway to Excellence designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

According to nursingworld.org, the Pathway program recognizes a health care organization’s commitment to creating a positive practice environment that empowers and engages staff. By investing in the optimum workplace for nurses, organizations demonstrate a culture of sustained excellence, resulting in the successful recruitment of top candidates and staff retention through high job satisfaction.

ANCC uses a three-year process to evaluate continuous improvement in the areas of shared decision-making, leadership, safety, quality, well-being and professional development.

Only 202 health care organizations worldwide have earned the Pathway designation. It is a globally recognized credential that highlights South Brooklyn Health’s commitment to creating a healthy work environment where nurses feel empowered and valued.

Hospital staff, elected officials and other leaders gathered in the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital Lobby for the announcement.

South Brooklyn Health CEO Svetlana Lipyanskaya was thrilled to welcome everyone to the celebration.

South Brooklyn Health CEO Svetlana Lipyanskaya congratulates the nurses.

“We are the second hospital in Brooklyn and the third in the city to achieve this recognition,” she said. “To each and every frontline nurse who makes up the dynamic and resilient nursing team here at South Brooklyn Health, it’s truly each and every one of you that got us to this celebration today. Achieving the prestigious designation is our journey to the future. It means we are on our way to creating a culture where our nurses feel supported and cared for.”

Dr. Valerie Morrison made the announcement and applauded the nurses’ hard work.

Dr. Valerie Morrison makes the announcement.

“You’ve built a culture where direct care nurses are empowered to ensure patient safety and they are an integral voice of interprofessional decision making,” she said. “Where nurse managers are leading from the front and are accessible to the staff and where patient and family center care is evidently practiced ensuring high-quality outcomes.”

“This is about empowering nurses,” said Dr. Mitchell Katz, president and CEO of New York Health + Hospitals. “Empowering means that whatever the situation is that you’re going to do a good job.”

Dr. Mitchell Katz, president and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals, addresses the crowd.

Katz praised the nurses’ work during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic

“No one went to school to learn how to care for COVID patients and no one learned how to care for multiple patients of an ICU level at the same time, but they did it because they were empowered and motivated, and this is a great honor to these nurses,” he said.

City Councilmember Mercedes Narcisse, chair of the council’s Committee on Hospitals, also spoke at the event.

“Nurses are indeed the backbone of our health care delivery system and I thank you ANCC for providing us with an occasion to celebrate these hardworking and skilled individuals who certainly deserve our grace,” she said. “Nurses lead the way. Without nurses, I don’t know about hospitals. These great healthcare superheroes shepherded us through the pandemic.”