create a workplace that supports a culture of excellence leading to quality improvements. Increasingly, chief nursing
officers (CNOs) at Pathway-designated organizations are validating how creating healthy work environments has
strengthened engagement in their own settings. When Broward Health Imperial Point (BHIP) nursing leaders sought new
ways to deliver high-quality, cost-effective care in a rapidly changing environment, they turned to ANCC’s Pathway to
Excellence Program as a blueprint. BHIP embarked on the Pathway journey to:
▸ build and strengthen workplace dynamics,
▸ implement a successful shared governance structure,
▸ improve multidisciplinary practice, and
▸ help patients achieve optimal health and wellness.
In addition, leaders wanted external recognition of nurses’ extraordinary care and positive impact on patients and peers.
The Pathway journey brought BHIP’s nursing practice environment to a new level and led to marked improvements in
several nursing measures and outcomes. Nurse-directed performance improvement teams applied evidence-based
practice changes that helped the hospital achieve the following quality outcomes:
▸ A 40% decrease in patient falls in two years
▸ A 36% reduction in CAUTI rates in one year
▸ A 33% reduction in CLABSIs in one year, with a projected annualized rate of 60% fewer CLABSIs through 2016
▸ Zero CLABSIs in the ICU for more than 18 months
▸ Zero HAPU, CAP, and post-op VTE for more than two years
▸ Significant improvement in engagement scores.
Pathway-driven changes to BHIP’s shared governance structure lie at the root of these
improvements. What began as a group of unit-based nursing and
governing councils evolved into multidisciplinary clinical councils that include representatives
from every department in the hospital. Interprofessional teamwork thrived and all of BHIP’s 840
employees felt empowered and engaged. In the 2015 survey, employees gave especially high
marks on decision-making, resources, teamwork, and communication.
BHIP's healthy work environment helped BHIP achieve noteworthy outcomes. The hospital now exceeds national
quality and safety benchmarks, with marked improvements in falls and CAUTI, CLABSI, and
HAPU rates, to name a few.
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