The Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing named three hospitals and health systems as winners of its 2026 National Certification Champion Award on Oct. 6.
The award honors organizations that support, recognize and reward registered nurses who earn and keep specialty board certification. The board offers six specialty certifications: emergency, pediatric emergency, trauma, burn, flight and critical care ground transport nursing.
Here are the winners and how each supported nurse certification:
- Small healthcare facility: Missouri Baptist Sullivan (Mo.) Hospital emergency department
The department has increased RN certification by 23% since October 2023. Some of its nurses now hold both the certified emergency nurse and certified flight registered nurse credentials.
The hospital pays for exam fees, renewals, review courses and practice exams. It also offers peer mentoring, study groups and an RN career ladder that rewards certification with pay and professional development.
The department also reported that in-hospital sepsis mortality fell from 17% to 0%, with nine straight months of zero in-hospital sepsis deaths.
- Large healthcare facility: Orlando Health Orlando (Fla.) Regional Medical Center
The medical center pays for emergency department nurses’ exam vouchers for the certified emergency nurse, trauma certified registered nurse and certified burn registered nurse credentials.
Its “Set the Pace” mentorship program pays incentives to both mentors and mentees. Certification is also part of professional development evaluations and opens the door to expanded roles.
- Health system: Inova Health System in Fairfax, Va.
The number of certified emergency RNs at Inova has grown 175% over three years, to 450 nurses. Growth in certified RNs is a systemwide key performance indicator for 2026.
A community-funded hospital foundation pays for review courses and continuing education for certification and renewals. Certified nurses also get a $1,500 annual bonus.
“Specialty-certified nurses bring advanced clinical expertise, confidence and leadership to every shift,” said Sandy Leake, DNP, RN, senior vice president and chief nursing officer of Inova.
