Illini Community Hospital receives IMPACT Award for Pike County Nurse Honor Guard
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Holly Jones, Illini Community Hospital Assistant Administrator, accepts the 2021 IMPACT Award from Alisa Coleman (left), ICAHN Board President and Ferrell Hospital CEO. Also pictured are Chontel Whitaker, Infection Control Coordinator, and Lexy Damon (right), Emergency Department Manager.
Illini Community Hospital, Pittsfield, was awarded the Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network’s IMPACT Award for its Pike County Nurse Honor Guard program, during ceremonies held Nov. 18 at the I-Hotel and Conference Center, Champaign, Ill.
Participants vying for the award were encouraged to submit innovations implemented at their respective hospitals which initiated a new approach to improve patient relationships, implemented a new process flow or life-safety improvement, found a creative way to motivate and inspire staff, or foster a successful community project.
Pike County Nurse Honor Guard attends, on request, the funeral or memorial services of Illini Community Hospital nurses wearing the traditional white uniform, complete with cap and cape. The Pike County Nurse Honor Guard ceremony patterns the idea of a military honor guard. The service includes the recitation of the Nightingale Tribute in honor of the deceased nurse, including the “Last Call to Duty.” The Nightingale Lamp is presented to the family in honor of the nurse’s memory.
Because burn-out among healthcare workers is at an all-time high and the numbers of nurses leaving the field is increasing at an alarming rate, there seemed to be no better time to honor nurses of the past and also engage today’s nurses in ways that reignite their passion for this calling.
The ceremonies of the Honor Guard have honored Pike County nurses from a wide variety of age groups (20s to 70-plus), both presently working and those who have retired. This combined effort has brought nurses of all ages and experiences together to share in their intimate and common bond.
Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital, Sandwich, Horizon Health, Paris, and St. Joseph Memorial Hospital, Murphysboro, were also respectively honored at the event for “Behavioral Health Solutions in the Emergency Department,” the Sepsis Improvement Project, and the “Cultivating Resiliency in Times of Uncertainty” project.
ABOUT ICAHN
ICAHN is a network of 57 critical access and small, rural Illinois hospitals dedicated to strengthening the operations of its member hospitals through collaboration. The organization is composed of Illinois hospitals who have earned critical access hospital designation by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. ICAHN is recognized nationally for its work with rural healthcare and administers several state, federal, and private healthcare programs. The ICAHN office is located in Princeton, Ill.
