The Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton emergency team celebrates earning the 2025 ENA Lantern Award.
The emergency departments of Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton and Tanner Medical Center/Villa Rica have been selected to receive the prestigious 2025 Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) Lantern Award, which recognizes leadership, practice, education and advocacy that resulted in improved patient care and staff well-being.
Both emergency departments were among only 96 emergency departments nationwide to earn this honor in 2025, making Tanner Health one of the few health systems to receive dual recognition.
“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 were selected this year.”
The ENA Lantern Award, established in 2011, is the only national accolade that honors entire emergency departments for excellence in five core areas: leadership, practice, education, advocacy and research. The award celebrates emergency departments that integrate evidence-based practices and innovative processes and foster healthy work environments — ultimately elevating patient care and staff well-being.
“We’re incredibly proud that both of our emergency departments have been recognized with this prestigious national honor,” said Donny Hightower, vice president of emergency services at Tanner Health. “This achievement reflects our unwavering commitment to providing exceptional emergency care and creating supportive environments where our nursing teams can thrive.”
Emergency departments must undergo a rigorous, blinded review process to receive the ENA Lantern Award and score a minimum overall composite of 80% across all required domains. The intensive evaluation ensures that recognized departments consistently apply evidence-based interventions and maintain the highest standards of patient care.
Tanner’s dual recognition demonstrates the health system’s dedication to clinical excellence, leadership, quality improvement and staff empowerment across all locations. Both emergency departments met the stringent criteria that evaluate everything from patient outcomes to workplace culture and continuing education programs.
The ENA Lantern Award designation brings significant benefits to patients and the community. Lantern-awarded emergency departments are proven to deliver superior patient outcomes through evidence-based care, maintain supportive work environments that enhance staff retention and satisfaction, and demonstrate an ongoing commitment to innovation and excellence through the intensive renewal process.
Recipients earn exclusive rights to display the official ENA Lantern seal during their three-year award period, along with public recognition and a prestigious lantern trophy. As recipients, Tanner Health’s two hospital emergency departments will be recognized in upcoming ENA publications, on the ENA website and during Emergency Nursing 2025, the association’s annual conference in New Orleans, Sept. 17-20.
The 2025 awards represent the largest class of recipients to date, with Tanner’s emergency departments joining an elite group of facilities recognized for their exceptional performance nationwide.
For more information on this year’s ENA Lantern Award recipients, visit the Emergency Nurses Association website at https://www.ena.org/about/awards-recognition/lantern.
