Carilion New River Valley Medical Center Earns Pathway to Excellence Designation for Nursing

Carilion New River Valley Medical Center (CNRV) has been awarded the American Nursing Credentialing Center Pathway to Excellence designation. CNRV is the first Carilion hospital to earn this and only the eighth across the state. There are only 195 hospitals nationwide with this four-year designation.

“This really highlights the level of nursing quality that we have at CNRV,” said Kristi Hall, D.N.P., senior director of nursing. “This certification identifies our hospital as an organization that facilitates and supports our nursing staff through autonomy, life balance, shared-decision making, professional development and continuing, supportive education that ultimately allows for the best care to our patients.”

The designation process focused on 63 elements of nursing performance and six standards that are essential elements in developing a positive practice environment for nursing staff. Those standards are:

• Shared decision-making: Creates opportunities for direct care nurses to network, collaborate, share ideas and be involved in decision-making.

• Leadership: Supports a shared governance environment by ensuring that leaders are accessible and that they facilitate collaborative decision-making. Also emphasizes leadership development, orientation, retention, accountability and succession planning.

• Safety: Prioritizes both patient and nurse safety and fosters a respectful workplace culture free of incivility, bullying and violence.

• Quality: Is central to an organization's mission, vision, goals and values, and is based on person- and family-centered care, evidence-based care, continuous improvement and improving population health.

• Well-being: Focused on promoting a workplace culture of recognition for the contribution of nurses and the health care provider team. Additionally, this standard provides staff with support and resources to promote their physical and mental health.

• Professional development: Ensures nurses are competent to provide care and provides them with mentoring, support and opportunities for lifelong learning.

The six Pathway Standards above impact a wide range of factors that influence bottom-line results, such as turnover rates, overall job satisfaction, employee engagement, productivity, patient safety and teamwork.

“We talk often about our culture, knowing that our culture of caring allows us to achieve at the very highest levels in the areas that matter most—patient safety and clinical outcomes,” said Bill Flattery, vice president, Carilion Clinic Western Region. “Our nursing staff is critical to everything that is achieved in our hospital.”

Learn more about Carilion's nursing program here.