Six emergency departments in New Jersey have earned a coveted 2023 ENA Lantern Award, a program open to health facilities around the world. 

This year’s class of 53 honorees was the largest since the award was established in 2011, according to the Emergency Nurses Association, which announced the winners July 12. Fifty-two of the winning departments are in the U.S., and one is in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 

The ENA Lantern Award was created to recognize emergency departments demonstrating exceptional and innovative leadership, practice, education, advocacy and research performance. 

“Each and every emergency department on this list has worked extremely hard implementing innovations to better their emergency department for staff and patients alike,” ENA President Terry Foster said in a statement. “Hearing the excitement these EDs had when notified that they were a recipient was so heart-warming and reminded me of the commitment that ED nurses have to continuous improvement.” 

The New Jersey recipients of the 2023 ENA Lantern Award are: 

• Bayshore Medical Center, Dr. Robert H. Harris Emergency Care Center (Hackensack Meridian Health)
  Holmdel 
• CentraState Medical Center Emergency Department (CentraState Healthcare System)
  Freehold 
• Morristown Medical Center, Sameth Emergency Department (Atlantic Health System)
  Morristown 
• Old Bridge Medical Center Emergency Department (Hackensack Meridian Health)
  Old Bridge 
• Overlook Medical Center Emergency Services, Union Campus (Atlantic Health System)
  Union 
• Raritan Bay Medical Center Emergency Department (Hackensack Meridian Health)
  Perth Amboy 

In 2022, five different Garden State emergency departments earned the distinction. Once a department wins the award, it must wait out a three-year cycle and is then eligible to apply again. 

The award recipients will receive a physical award to display in their emergency department and will also be recognized in the Hall of Honor at Emergency Nursing 2023, ENA’s annual conference, in San Diego. 

Founded in 1970, ENA is a professional nursing association with 50,000 members worldwide. The association advocates for patient safety, develops industry-leading practice standards and guidelines and guides emergency health care public policy.