Roper St. Francis Berkeley celebrates Pathway to Excellence designation

The nervous energy fluttering around the Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital board room on Thursday afternoon turned to pure joy after the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) delivered news everyone longed to hear: Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital earned its Pathway to Excellence designation. 

Tears were shed, pom poms shimmied and flutes of sparkling grape juice cheered as Jennifer Crawford, the hospital’s chief nursing officer, expressed immense gratitude and pride for her team.

“You have worked really hard over the last three years,” Crawford said. “Even with a lot of Covid and a lot of crazy, you always focused on your teams. This designation is a direct reflection of your passion for our patients, high quality care and the wellbeing of one another.”  

Pathway to Excellence is the premier designation for healthy work environments, and it recognizes organizations that demonstrate a commitment to establishing the foundation of a healthy workplace for staff. The application process is grueling, involving countless hours of paperwork documenting excellence and, most importantly, caring for patients. 

Senior Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer Rissa Jamarik, DNP, RN, NEA-BC also shared heartfelt words with Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital nursing leaders. She highlighted shared decision making, which is one of six practice standards essential to an ideal nursing practice environment to qualify for the recognition. 

“The collaboration at this facility is palpable,” Jamarik said. “The thing that strikes me the most about the shared decision making standard, which is so important to me, is that this is literally you. This award is you and you have every right to be in here right now.”  

 The other five standards are leadership, safety, quality well-being and professional development.  

Pathway-designated organizations are deemed the best places to work for nurses because of their high nurse satisfaction and retention. The designation demonstrates the organization’s dedication to building an exceptional culture of positivity, engagement and empowerment.  

President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffery DiLisi, MD, MBA reflected on his experience as a physician and what it means to work in a healthcare system with prestigious nursing recognitions such as Pathway to Excellence and Magnet.  

“It means nurses are very committed to quality and patient care,” Dr. DiLisi said. “I tell medical staff this means the nurses in our organization are taking the very best care of our patients. It validates the great work you’re doing and it’s an honor. I’m so proud to be CEO of this organization.”  

Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital is the third facility within the Roper St. Francis Healthcare system to achieve an ANCC designation. Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital received its third Pathway to Excellence Nursing designation in October 2021. Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital is pursuing its fourth consecutive redesignation as a Magnet hospital, another ANCC-sanctioned nursing excellence recognition.  

Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital and nursing leaders will be honored on stage and present at the ANCC combined Pathway to Excellence and Magnet conference in Chicago, IL, this October.