One of only 18 nurse experts, nurse leaders across the country to be honored

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has honored Lori Mayer of North Attleboro, Massachusetts, with its 2021 Circle of Excellence award. The recognition is given annually to outstanding nurses nationwide for achieving excellent outcomes in the care of acutely and critically ill patients and their families. Mayer, a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) nurse at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, is one of three honorees from children’s hospitals across the U.S. and the only nurse from RI to be given the award this year.

Criteria used to evaluate Circle of Excellence Award candidates includes relentless promotion of patient-driven excellence; communication skills; true collaboration; effective decision making; meaningful recognition of others; ability to transform thinking, structures and processes; and ability to address challenges and remove barriers to excellent patient care and achieve visible results through leadership.

As co-lead of the Ventilator Associated Event (VAE) and Unplanned Extubations (UE) team at Hasbro Children’s, Mayer was recognized for developing a tool to reduce ventilator-associated events by rounding on all patients with an endotracheal tube (ETT) to determine security of the airway and risk of UE and providing information about the airway at the bedside. As a result, Hasbro Children’s PICU went from 17 unplanned extubations one year to one in 11 months. Additionally, Mayer played a direct role in Hasbro Children’s receiving its third SILVER-level AACN Beacon Award for Excellence earlier this year.

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ Circle of Excellence Awards align with the association’s mission of creating a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. Circle of Excellence awardees receive a plaque and a $1,000 honorarium and become members of the Circle of Excellence Society. This year’s 18 honorees will be recognized during AACN’s National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition, a virtual event May 24-27.

Elena Falcone-Relvas

Senior Public Relations Officer
Bradley Hospital & Hasbro Children's Hospital
401-444-6863
[email protected]