This nurse nomination represents every element of a servant leader. Before becoming a registered nurse, Juanita entered the health field as a medical assistant. She knew as a young girl that she wanted to be a nurse someday. Her dreams became a reality after receiving a “blank check” from a physician who encouraged her to enroll in a local nursing program. She did just that, and two years later, she graduated with an Associate Degree in Nursing. She did not stop there. She obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing and now holds a Master of Science Degree in Nursing (MSN) from a well-known nursing program. She also received an outstanding award for her MSN Residency Project on improving patient health outcomes using remote monitoring that is being implemented in our department.

Juanita holds a board certification in Ambulatory Care Nursing and certification as CPR Instructor. What I admire most about this nurse is her willingness to share her educational journey with others, which is respected by medical assistants working in our department. Often you will hear medical assistants discussing their desire to be just like her after learning of her journey to becoming a registered nurse. She has worked tirelessly with most of the COVID-19 activities in our department, developing training material for nurses to perform COVID-19 testing in the community. She was the first nurse to don PPE and perform COVID-19 testing in our clinics in hopes of easing the fears of other nurses who were hesitant to perform COVID-19 testing on patients.

Juanita is the epitome of a servant leader. She is relatable and really focuses on the support and growth of others. She has strong people skills and knows how to employ emotional intelligence skills in those moments where service recovery is essential. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she played a vital role, working with other leaders across our facility to open a daycare facility for essential workers. She worked with leaders to get food, drinks, and snacks to nurses, police officers, environmental service, and operation staff working at our COVID-19 testing locations. Ten months later, our COVID-19 teams are still receiving daily breakfast, lunch, and snacks, for which they are incredibly grateful.

Juanita is very innovative. She developed and implemented a nurse-led clinic in our facility. This initiative was designed to enhance the role of the registered nurse in the primary care teams to help improve diabetes and hypertension health outcomes for this subgroup patient population. She researched the concept and worked with physicians and senior nurse leadership to get the funding needed for the program, which later resulted in nine nurse-led clinics operating in our department.

There are many examples of compassionate care witnessed by Juanita. One example involved a young mother who entered the clinic with a sick infant. While triaging the infant, the nurse noticed a dispiritedness in the mother. After taking care of the infant’s medical needs, she engaged the young mother in a conversation by asking how she was doing. The young mother began to cry as she shared that she had missed taking a vital school exam that morning. She had no one to bring her sick child to see the doctor and now feared she would fail her course. After consoling the mother, she worked with the physician to write a school excuse for the young mother. She then shared her struggles as a young mother and how she prevailed educationally with limited support from others. The young mother was grateful for the encouragement from this nurse. She shared that she was thinking of quitting school because of the struggles she faced juggling school and motherhood. She believed God had placed Juanita in her path to offer words of hope and encouragement during a time of despair. This is just one small example of how this nurse shows genuine compassion to others who cross her path.