The Hallmarks awards are created by North Carolina artists. Like each workplace, each beautiful vase is unique.

The Hallmarks logo design symbolizes the convergence of the foundational workplace components that permit registered nurses to provide the best possible service in any location: support for professional development in the workplace, system support for staff to provide quality services, and integration of nursing into operations and governance of the facility. The arch represents the umbrella of a healthy workplace for all employees. The figure, embedded into the center of the three surfaces, is the recipient of service. While traditionally this person is the patient, in other settings it may be a student nurse, prisoner, industrial employee or resident, e.g., anyone who receives the benefits of nursing knowledge and skill.

History of Hallmarks

The NCNA Professional Practice Advocacy Coalition (PPAC) created the Hallmarks of Healthy Workplaces recognition program to address the nursing shortage issue in North Carolina. 

The Hallmarks program grew from a four year process that included a literature review, focus groups on issues related to the nursing shortage, and comparison of Hallmarks criteria with recognition criteria from other associations.  Any workplace in which three or more registered nurses are employed or volunteer is eligible to apply. The Hallmarks vision is a cohesive statewide health system of the highest caliber that includes not only acute care hospitals, but schools of nursing, outpatient clinics, private practices, home health settings, prisons, hospices, and more. The program operates with the understanding that nurses who provide care in an exceptional system in which they are critical decision makers promote the highest quality of care to their consumers.

Initial funding for the program was provided by The Center for American Nurses, the North Carolina Foundation for Nursing, the North Carolina Organization of Nursing Leaders, the Nursing Spectrum-Gannett Foundation, High Point Regional Health System and a generous grant from the Duke Endowment.  The Hallmarks program is endorsed by several organizations including the North Carolina Hospital Association, North Carolina Center for Nursing, North Carolina Association of Public Health Nurse Administrators, North Carolina Organization of Nurse Leaders, Association for Home & Hospice Care, and the Nurse Consultant Conference Group.