Juan is the type of nurse that, no matter what is happening at the station or with a patient, he maintains a calm and collected demeanor. He can always be found encouraging his co-workers and striving to bring the best out of them. When a nurse has had a particularly bad day, Juan has a story that he can share from his experience to help them through. By contrast, when things are going well and we are firing on all cylinders, Juan becomes a coach and keeps the team in the zone. He faces each day as a new opportunity to shine. The patients in our unit really enjoy having Juan as their nurse. It is common to have our repeat patients ask for Juan by name to be involved in their care again. He is good at explaining procedures so that the patients understand exactly what will be happening. On top of his experience and knowledge, Juan uses humor and his excellent interpersonal skills to place his patients at ease. Juan is not afraid to take on new challenges and he is often the first to respond to emergent situations on the unit. We had a day back in February where there were three code blues in the department. Juan was a first responder to each one and was instrumental in stabilizing the three patients.

Behind the scenes, Juan can be found advocating for the patients. He goes the extra mile to make sure that all of the patient's needs are met during their stay in the unit. For instance, there have been times when a patient will have multiple procedures on different days. Juan will get on the phone and get the patient through all their exams on one day so that they will not have to go through the inconvenience of coming back. He has also spoken up to get needed exams authorized in a timely manner. Juan often places the needs of the unit above his own and he can be found staying late to help on busy days or coming in early if asked to.

Juan started off at DHR back in 2005 as an LVN. He went back to school and obtained his RN back in 2010. Currently, he is working on his BSN with a planned graduation in December 2015. Juan has shown dedication and loyalty to both nursing and to DHR.