Beacon Pulse Survey Results and What We Are Doing Next

Beacon Pulse Survey Results and What We Are Doing Next
VA Loma Linda ICU | December 2025
Your feedback, our action plan.
What We Heard, in 1 Minute
Thank you for responding to the Beacon Pulse Survey. Your input helps us improve bedside reliability at the bedside and strengthen the work environment as we finalize our 2025 evidence for the 2026 Beacon submission. This snapshot shows where we are excelling and what we will tighten now through Dec 31, 2025.
What we are proud of
Leadership loop-closure is a top strength (Q24).
Recognition is consistently visible (Q15).
Three Strongest Signals
Recognition Is Highly Visible
Mean: 4.68
100.0% agree
Staff consistently see peers recognized through Outlook Kudos and Nurse of the Quarter
Foley Bundle Is Easy to Follow
Mean: 4.58
100.0% agree
Urinary catheter care bundle fits smoothly into routine workflow
Clear Beacon Contact Pathways
Mean: 4.55
96.8% agree
Staff know exactly who to ask when they have Beacon questions
Three Largest Improvement Opportunities
Vent Bundle Cues Need Strengthening
Mean: 3.61
58.1% agree
Reminders for ventilator bundle completion are not consistent enough
Supply Reliability Needs Attention
Mean: 3.61
67.7% agree
Line and catheter care supplies are not always available when needed
Run Charts Need Faster Access
Mean: 3.74
71.0% agree
Patient outcomes data exists but is not always quick to find
Section Performance Overview
Our HWEAT Baseline Shows a Strong Unit Foundation
The September 2025 HWEAT survey provides our baseline for the healthy work environment component of the Beacon application. Our aggregate score of 4.74 indicates a moderately healthy environment approaching very healthy, with particularly strong performance in decision-making and staffing adequacy.
Key Findings
Unit-level relationships and leadership behaviors are very strong across all six standards.
Organization-level partnership represents our main largest improvement opportunity.
The gap between staff perceptions of unit leaders versus top-level leadership is significant and actionable.
Where we are strongest, and where we need system partners
The contrast between staff experience with organizational leadership versus unit leadership reveals where we have the strongest control and where we need system partners.
The chart below shows all six HWEAT standards in the original report order, comparing ICU Unit scores to the Organization benchmark.
The gap between Organization and Unit scores are: Skilled Communication (1.87), True Collaboration (1.85), Meaningful Recognition (1.65), and Authentic Leadership (1.65).
Plain language takeaway
Staff rate unit leadership behaviors very strong.
Lower organization-level scores show where we will partner outside the ICU to remove barriers.
How to Read the Results
Survey Details
Survey Window: December 1-20, 2025
Total Responses: 61 ICU staff members
Eligible staff: 88
Response rate: 70%
Response Scale:
1 = Strongly disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Neither agree nor disagree
4 = Agree
5 = Strongly agree
Not applicable (excluded from calculations)
Understanding "Agree or Strongly Agree"
When we report that a percentage of staff "agree or strongly agree," it means that proportion of respondents rated the item as 4 or 5. This tells us the item is present and reliable in their daily experience.
Why This Matters for Beacon
The Beacon Award recognizes units that demonstrate excellence in patient outcomes and healthy work environments. This survey confirms whether our care bundles, communication tools, and leadership behaviors are actually showing up at the bedside, not just existing on paper.
Section A: Beacon Awareness, Engagement, and Access
This section measures whether staff understand the Beacon journey, know where to find information, and have seen key communications. Strong awareness is the foundation for sustained engagement and reliable participation in improvement work.
What this means on your next shift
Being aware of Beacon's purpose and knowing where to find updates means you're empowered to contribute to and benefit from our continuous improvement efforts every day.
What you can do this week
Use the ICU SharePoint hub tiles to reduce search time during busy shifts.
Q1: I know what the Beacon Award is and why our ICU is pursuing it
Mean: 4.48 | 93.5% agree
Meaning: The Beacon "why" is landing with staff. This foundational understanding supports sustained engagement throughout the journey.
Next step: Keep delivering short updates that connect Beacon work directly to patient safety outcomes staff see every shift.
Q2: I know where Beacon updates live on our ICU SharePoint hub
Mean: 4.23 | 83.9% agree
Meaning: Most staff know where to go for information, but we can make access even faster and more intuitive.
Next step: Add prominent one-click tiles on the hub homepage for "Beacon Updates" and "Run Charts" to reduce search time.
Section A: Beacon Awareness (Continued)
Q3: The Beacon page on our hub is easy to navigate
Mean: 4.16 (83.9% agree)
Meaning: The hub is functioning as a reliable source of truth for Beacon information and resources.
Next step: Maintain the simple layout and pin the most frequently used links at the top of the page for quick access.
Q4: I have seen the September 2025 HWEAT results summarized for staff
Mean: 4.26 (80.6% agree)
Meaning: We are closing the loop on staff voice, which builds trust and demonstrates that feedback leads to action.
Next step: Re-post the HWEAT summary with a "what we changed because of your feedback" narrative to strengthen the connection.
Q5: I can quickly find our current patient outcomes run charts if I need them
Mean: 3.74 (71.0% agree)
Improvement opportunity
Meaning: The data exists and is accurate, but the pathway to access it is not always quick or obvious during a busy shift. A run chart shows performance over time so we can see real change, not random noise.
Next step: Prioritize this as an immediate fix. Make run charts one-click accessible on the hub and mirror them prominently on the unit CQI board for immediate visual reference this month, ideally before Dec 31, 2025.
Q6: I am aware of the six exemplar projects that support Beacon 2026
Mean: 4.10 (80.6% agree)
Meaning: The majority of staff recognize the core workstreams driving our Beacon evidence.
Next step: Continue repeating the same six-project storyline in huddles, education days, and email updates to reinforce recognition.
Q7: I have received clear, brief Beacon updates in email or during huddles
Mean: 4.35 (93.5% agree)
Meaning: Communication cadence and clarity are organizational strengths supporting staff engagement.
Next step: Protect this strength by continuing the brief update format and tying each message to specific actions staff can take.
Q8: If I have a Beacon question, I know who to ask and how to reach them
Mean: 4.55 (96.8% agree)
This is one of our highest-scoring items. Clear pathways for questions support psychological safety and help staff feel connected to the work. We will keep sending updates on a regular basis.
Section B: Ease of Doing the Right Thing at the Bedside
Bedside reliability means the tools, supplies, and workflows we design actually work during routine patient care. This section reveals where our evidence-based bundles fit smoothly into practice and where barriers create workarounds or delays.
Q9: Central line care bundle is easy to follow during routine care
Mean: 4.48 | 96.8% agree
Meaning: Our CLABSI prevention work is operational and embedded in workflow, not just documented in policy.
Next step: Protect this strength by continuing to reinforce bundle steps during leadership rounds and compliance audits.
Q10: Urinary catheter care bundle is easy to follow during routine care
Mean: 4.58 | 100.0% agree
High reliability strength
Meaning: Highest-scoring item in Section B (bedside reliability). CAUTI prevention is a bedside reliability win that directly supports patient safety.
Next step: Preserve what is working. Continue nurse-driven removal protocols and maintain supply consistency for catheter care.
Q14: Vent bundle cues clear
Meaning: Cueing means the workflow reminds us at the right time so reliability does not depend on memory.
Improvement opportunity
Next step: Prioritize this as an immediate fix. Implement a quick systems improvement to ensure clear vent bundle cues are in place.
What you can do this week
Report supply gaps and vent cueing misses early so we can fix the system.
What this means on your next shift
The positive feedback in this section shows that our evidence-based care bundles are effectively integrated into your daily tasks, making it easier to provide high-quality patient care.
Section B: Bedside Reliability (Continued)
Q11: Supplies for line and catheter care are consistently available on my shift
Mean: 3.61 | 67.7% agree
Highest-priority improvement target
Meaning: Supply reliability is the main barrier signal in the entire survey. When supplies are not consistently available, staff must search, improvise, or delay care, creating safety risk and workflow friction.
Next step: Prioritize this as an immediate fix. Tighten par levels, standardize storage locations for high-use items, and create a fast escalation pathway when critical supplies run out. Implement a quick systems improvement this month to address supply reliability. This work will directly support our CLABSI and CAUTI prevention efforts.
Q12: Bedside tools for pressure injury prevention are readily available when needed
Mean: 4.03 | 80.6% agree
Meaning: Tools are generally available, with room to improve consistency across shifts and patient assignments.
Next step: Standardize where pressure injury prevention items live in each room and reinforce restock ownership at shift change.
Q13: Barcode scanning fits smoothly into my workflow
Mean: 4.06 | 80.6% agree
Meaning: Workflow fit is strong overall, which protects medication safety and supports sustained compliance.
Next step: Address remaining friction points such as scanner access, battery life, and equipment placement to maintain high reliability.
Q14: When a ventilator bundle is due, cues or reminders make it hard to miss
Mean: 3.61 | 58.1% agree
Improvement opportunity
Meaning: Cueing is not yet consistent, creating risk for variability in VAP prevention practices.
Next step: Prioritize this as an immediate fix. Implement a quick systems improvement this month to standardize reminder methods in the EHR workflow and align ventilator bundle prompts with daily interdisciplinary rounding, ensuring clear vent bundle cues are in place.
Section C: Engagement and Recognition That Reinforce the Work
Recognition is not just about feeling valued. It reinforces the specific behaviors that keep patients safe. This section shows how visible, meaningful recognition strengthens teamwork, sustains motivation, and supports professional development in the ICU.
Q15: I have seen peers recognized through Outlook Kudos or Nurse of the Quarter this fall
Mean: 4.68 | 100.0% agree
Highest-scoring item in Section C
Meaning: Recognition is visible, active, and consistent. This is a clear strength that supports healthy work environment culture.
Next step: Keep recognition specific to safety actions, teamwork excellence, and patient-centered behaviors that align with Beacon goals.
Q16: Recognition efforts motivate me to keep doing the right things for patients
Mean: 4.45 | 87.1% agree
Meaning: Recognition is not just feel-good; it actively reinforces the reliable care behaviors we need to sustain excellence.
Next step: Tie recognition to one specific care behavior and its patient impact, then echo one quick example in the next huddle so the team knows what to repeat.
Q17: Recognition has a positive effect on teamwork on my shift
Mean: 4.39 | 87.1% agree
Meaning: Staff directly link recognition practices to stronger teamwork, a key safety multiplier in the ICU environment.
Next step: Highlight team-based wins in addition to individual recognition to reinforce collaborative care delivery.
What this means on your next shift
Visible and timely recognition strengthens teamwork and reinforces behaviors that ensure patient safety.
What you can do this week
Recognize a specific safety or teamwork behavior in real time to reinforce what we want repeated.
Section C: Engagement and Recognition (Continued)
Q18: The ICU SharePoint hub helped me complete a task faster
Mean: 4.29 | 80.6% agree
Meaning: The hub is improving workflow efficiency and standardizing information access, reducing time spent searching for resources.
Next step: Implement a quick systems improvement this month by ensuring the "Most Used Resources" section is prominently displayed and all broken links are refreshed to maintain trust in the tool.
Q19: Options for AACN membership or CCRN support are clear and encouraging
Mean: 4.32 | 87.1% agree
Meaning: Professional development support is visible, accessible, and encouraging, strengthening the unit's commitment to specialty certification.
Next step: An immediate fix is to keep the step-by-step CCRN preparation pathway posted on the hub and continue offering study group support and test-taking resources.
Section C Summary
Section C earned the highest average mean score (4.39) across all survey sections. Recognition, professional development support, and efficient information access are clear organizational strengths that create a foundation for sustained engagement in quality improvement work. These elements directly support the Healthy Work Environment standards measured in our HWEAT baseline.
Section D: Safety Climate and Perceived Impact
This section measures whether staff see and feel the safety benefits of Beacon work, whether they believe the unit is improving, and whether leadership behaviors support a speak-up culture. These perceptions directly influence engagement, retention, and the sustainability of our quality gains.
Q20: Beacon work has made it easier for me to deliver safer care
Mean: 4.03 | 67.7% agree
Meaning: Staff generally feel the safety benefit of Beacon initiatives. This perception will rise as we address supply reliability and ventilator bundle cueing barriers identified in Section B.
Next step: Strengthen line-of-sight by explicitly connecting each Beacon action to a specific patient safety outcome staff can observe in their daily work. Implement a rapid fix for any identified supply reliability issues.
Q21: I see our unit improving because of the changes we put in place
Mean: 4.26 | 90.3% agree
Meaning: Staff recognize visible progress, which builds momentum and reinforces the value of continued improvement efforts.
Next step: Keep demonstrating progress with simple run charts and brief success stories that show how specific changes led to better outcomes. Implement a rapid fix to highlight a key success story.
Q22: I plan to stay engaged in Beacon work through 2026
Mean: 4.30 | 83.9% agree
Meaning: There is strong willingness to sustain engagement through the submission year, a critical predictor of long-term success.
Next step: Make participation easy by breaking work into small, clear tasks and providing timely feedback on contributions. Implement a rapid fix to streamline task assignment.
What you can do this week
Speak up early when you see a barrier, and look for loop-closure updates to confirm actions were taken.
What this means on your next shift
Your leadership is visible and responsive, creating a supportive environment where your input directly contributes to improved patient safety and unit-wide progress.
Section D: Leadership Behaviors That Build Trust
Leadership Visibility and Responsiveness Are Clear Strengths
Questions 23 and 24 both scored 4.48, placing them among the highest-rated items in the entire survey. This performance aligns perfectly with our HWEAT baseline, which showed unit-level leadership scores above 5.0 for communication, collaboration, and creating a healthy work environment.
These scores tell us that ICU leadership is doing exactly what high-reliability organizations require: being present when issues arise and following through when staff raise concerns.
Q23: ICU leadership is visible and supportive when we raise issues tied to Beacon goals
Mean: 4.48 | 93.5% agree
Meaning: Leadership visibility is a documented strength that creates psychological safety and encourages staff to identify and escalate problems early.
Next step: Continue structured leadership rounding with consistent follow-through on identified barriers, especially supply and workflow issues. Implement a quick systems improvement for any identified barriers.
Q24: ICU leadership closes the loop when we raise safety concerns or improvement ideas
Mean: 4.48 | 96.8% agree
Meaning: Closing the loop is one of the most powerful trust-building behaviors in healthcare. It demonstrates that staff input leads to action and change.
Next step: Keep documenting closure actions and sharing outcomes back to the staff member or team who raised the original concern. Implement an immediate fix to streamline feedback loops. This reinforces the speak-up culture.
Connection to HWEAT: The leadership scores in Section D mirror the HWEAT finding that unit-level leadership (ICU management, ICU educator as well as Charge Nurses) consistently score above 5.0 across all six healthy work environment standards. This consistency between HWEAT and Pulse Survey results validates that leadership behaviors are reliable, not isolated or event-driven.
Themes from Open Comments
Question 25 invited staff to share additional thoughts in their own words. We received comments that reinforce the quantitative findings and add nuance about what helps staff stay engaged and what creates friction in daily work. Below are the major themes with representative quotes.
Protected Time Supports Engagement
"It is easier to stay engaged when dedicated time is built into the schedule."
Staff recognize that quality work requires time. When improvement activities compete with direct patient care, both suffer. Dedicated time signals organizational commitment.
Recognition and Morale
"Good job team"
"Excellent work, thank you!"
Short expressions of appreciation reinforce that the work matters. Simple, timely recognition sustains morale during challenging times.
Supply Reliability Remains a Barrier
"Supply line remains an issue."
This comment validates the quantitative finding from Q11 (mean 3.61, 67.7% agree). When critical supplies are not consistently stocked, staff spend time searching instead of providing care. This issue cuts across CLABSI, CAUTI, and pressure injury prevention bundles.
Comfort and Sedation Reliability for Ventilated Patients
One comment highlighted the need for reliable, timely comfort management for ventilated patients, supported by clear ordering workflows, rounding prompts, and escalation pathways.
What this means: We will use these themes to target immediate fixes that remove barriers and protect patient comfort and safety. The supply reliability and ventilator bundle cues will be prioritized for action in the December plan on the next card. These improvements require rapid implementation this month, ensuring completion before Dec 31, 2025.
What We Will Do Next
This action plan addresses the three improvement opportunities identified in the survey while protecting the strengths that support our Beacon journey. Each action has a clear owner and completion target this month, before Dec 31, 2025.
Targeted Improvements
Strengths We Will Protect
Continue brief, clear updates
Keep the communication format that earned a 4.35 mean score in Q7.
Maintain visible contact pathways
Protect the 4.55 score in Q8 by keeping contact lists current and accessible.
Sustain meaningful recognition
Continue Outlook Kudos and Nurse of the Quarter (Q15: 4.68 (highest score in the survey)).
Preserve bundle ease of use
Protect high scores for central line (Q9: 4.48) and Foley care bundles (Q10: 4.58).
Your Role in This Work
If you see a barrier
Speak up early. Use the contact pathways we have built. Early identification prevents small issues from becoming safety risks.
If you see a win
Recognize it. Send an Outlook Kudos. Tell your charge nurse. Visible recognition reinforces the behaviors that keep patients safe.
If you need a resource
Use our ICU SharePoint hub or reach out to ICU Management. The tools exist to support your work. We want to make them easier to find and use.
Thank you for your feedback and your commitment to excellence. Your responses are shaping our end-of-year close-the-loop actions and our final 2025 evidence package for the 2026 Beacon submission. The combination of strong HWEAT scores, high engagement, and targeted improvement actions positions us well for a successful submission. We will keep you updated on progress through the same communication channels you told us are working, ensuring completion before Dec 31.
Maintained by the Beacon Core Team, VA Loma Linda ICU. Last updated: 2025-12-21