Elena Marshall was nominated for diligently caring for a patient in need of emergency care while far away from home.
The patient was on a hiking tour of Yosemite from Chicago when a health emergency forced her to end her trip early.
"I was a somewhat anxious patient, having gotten sick while far from my home," the patient wrote in a nomination letter. "I know I asked a lot of questions and was rather demanding, but Elena was very patient with me and answered all of them."
After the patient recovered, she needed numerous forms completed to be sent to her insurance company to help facilitate proper reimbursements. Despite the heavy paperwork load, Elena carried out the tasks without complaint.
"We even discovered that we have the same birthday!" the patient wrote. "She really made the stressful situation bearable for me."