NEW JERSEY — Three Atlantic Health emergency departments have been recognized with the 2026 Emergency Nurses Association Lantern Award, an honor that recognizes excellence in emergency nursing, innovation and evidence-based practices that improve patient care and staff well-being.
The award is presented in three-year cycles to emergency departments that demonstrate sustained excellence in emergency nursing and patient care. The three Atlantic Health facilities join 126 emergency departments nationwide selected as 2026 recipients.
The honored departments are Atlantic Health Morristown Medical Center’s Sameth Emergency Department, Atlantic Health Overlook Medical Center Emergency Services – Union Campus, and Atlantic Health CentraState Medical Center’s Emergency Department.
“Receiving the Lantern Award across three of our emergency departments- including Union’s unprecedented sixth consecutive designation- is a powerful reflection of the extraordinary care our teams provide to tens of thousands of patients each year,” said Senior Vice President & System Chief Nursing Executive, Cody Legler, DNP, APRN, NEA-BC, FAONL. “This honor underscores not only their clinical expertise, but also their compassion, innovation, and unwavering commitment to the communities we serve.”
The Union Emergency Department at Atlantic Health Overlook Medical Center earned the designation for a sixth consecutive cycle, making it the only emergency department to receive the award during every cycle since the Lantern Award program began in 2011, according to Atlantic Health. The 23-bed department treats about 36,000 patients annually and provides emergency care, advanced cardiovascular services, comprehensive stroke care, on-site laboratory and radiology services, and community outreach referrals.
Morristown Medical Center’s Sameth Emergency Department received its third Lantern Award. The department treated more than 110,000 patients in 2025 and operates as an American College of Emergency Physicians-accredited Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department within the hospital’s 735-bed, Magnet-designated, Level 1 Trauma Center. The department also supports emergency medicine, nursing and pharmacy residency programs.
Atlantic Health CentraState Medical Center’s Emergency Department earned the Lantern Award for a second consecutive cycle. The department cared for more than 47,000 patients in 2025 and is recognized as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center and an accredited Chest Pain Center. Pediatric patients are treated in the Hersh Pediatric Center’s dedicated emergency department, staffed by board-certified pediatric emergency physicians and pediatric nurses.
“The Lantern recognizes something incredibly special. It isn’t an award for an individual or an entire hospital—it’s a recognition earned by an emergency department and the team that powers it every day,” said ENA President Dustin Bass, DNP, MHA, RN, CEN, NEA-BC. “Atlantic Health’s ED’s are three of 126 emergency departments to achieve a Lantern Award this year.”
More information about the 2026 Lantern Award recipients is available through the Emergency Nurses Association.
