Inova Fairfax Hospital Emergency Department recognized for excellence
Emergency Nurses Association Lantern Award recipients announced
Fairfax, VA – The Inova Fairfax Hospital Adult Emergency Department has been selected as a recipient of the 2025 Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) Lantern Award, which recognizes leadership, practice, education and advocacy – resulting in improved patient care and staff wellbeing.
“As the third busiest emergency department in the country, we care for hundreds of patients a day, and this award affirms our commitment to providing the highest quality care while supporting the wellbeing of our extraordinary team members,” said Steve Narang, MD, President, Inova Fairfax Medical Campus. “We’re proud to be among a select group of emergency departments nationwide recognized for setting the standard in emergency care.”
Inova Fairfax Hospital’s Adult Emergency Department is a designated Level I Trauma Center and Comprehensive Stroke Center, and provides advanced cardiac care, including STEMI and LVAD management. In 2024, the department handled more than 110,000 patient visits, supported by dedicated teams to support throughout, including Triage Team Leads, Throughput Coordinators and Team Leads to ensure efficient care delivery. These innovations have contributed to a reduction in boarding hours to under 35,000 annually, despite an average admission rate of 30 percent.
Inova is also deeply committed to workforce development. Using the Tiered Skills Acquisition Model (TSAM), the department provides a structured, step-by-step orientation for new nurses. Since its implementation, TSAM has led to a 51% increase in new graduate nurse retention and the successful onboarding of 135 new team members in 2024.
The ENA Lantern Award celebrates these types of innovative practices and culture of excellence.
“These recipients demonstrate excellence in practice, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation that make their departments exceptional places for patients receiving care as well as for the staff working in them,” said ENA President Ryan Oglesby, PhD, MHA, RN, CEN, CFRN, NEA-BC.
Fewer than 100 emergency departments nationwide were honored with the award this year.
The Lantern Award will be on display in the emergency department, and Inova Fairfax Hospital will be recognized in ENA publications, on the association’s website, and during Emergency Nursing 2025 in New Orleans, Sept. 17–20.
For more information on this year’s Lantern Award recipients, visit the Emergency Nurses Association website.
About Inova
We are Inova, Northern Virginia and the Washington, DC, metropolitan area’s leading nonprofit healthcare provider. With expertise and compassion, we partner with our patients to help them stay healthy. We treat illness, heal injury and look at a patient’s whole health to help them flourish. Through our expansive network of hospitals, primary and specialty care practices, emergency and urgent care centers, and outpatient services, Inova provides care for more than 1 million unique patients every year. Total patient visits exceed 4 million annually, demonstrating our ability to deliver the best clinical care and ensuring a seamless experience for all who rely on us for their healthcare needs.
Consistently ranked and recognized as a national healthcare leader in safety, quality and patient experience, Inova’s world-class care is made possible by the strength and breadth of our network, our 25,000 team members, our technology, and our innovation. In 2025, Inova was named the Health System of the Year by Press Ganey, a national leader in healthcare experience, recognizing our excellence in patient care, team member engagement and commitment to continuous improvement.
Inova is home to Northern Virginia’s only Level 1 Trauma Center and Level 4 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and provides high-quality healthcare to each person in every community we are privileged to serve – regardless of ability to pay – every day of their life. More information about Inova can be found at www.inova.org.
About the Emergency Nurses Association
The Emergency Nurses Association is the premier professional nursing association dedicated to defining the future of emergency nursing through advocacy, education, research, innovation, and leadership. Founded in 1970, ENA has proven to be an indispensable resource to the global emergency nursing community. With nearly 45,000 members worldwide, ENA advocates for patient safety, develops industry-leading practice standards and guidelines, and guides emergency health care public policy. ENA members have expertise in triage, patient care, disaster preparedness, and all aspects of emergency care. Additional information is available at www.ena.org.