I would like to nominate Linda Venzke for the DAISY Award. She has worked for UTMB for over 15 years. Linda is an excellent nurse who is so giving both at work and for our patients in the Galveston community. Linda started with the Luke Society in 1981, where she went on her first mission trip to Mexico. The Luke Society is a nonprofit 501C organization that functions solely on volunteers and grants. Luke Society provides basic-level medical and spiritual care every Saturday in a parking lot in Galveston. This clinic helps uninsured patients not clog up our emergency room by providing them with medical assessments, treatments, and medications. Regardless of the weather, the Luke Society usually sees about 40 patients and provides them with medical care from volunteer doctors, nurses and students. Patients receive assessments, medications, wound care, medical supplies, and COVID testing without cost. Linda is the Medical Director of the Luke Society and has tremendous responsibility and time commitment, all while working full-time at UTMB in the Office of Institutional Compliance as a Compliance Nurse Auditor. Last year she was responsible for getting approximately $50,000 in grants to be able to buy medications, medical supplies, and items needed to run the clinic. Not only does she volunteer her time to run this very needed clinic (and all the time to do paperwork, apply for grants, and preparation behind the scenes), she goes above and beyond for these patients. I have seen her several times use her own money to get patients an Uber, giving blankets on those very cold days, and even giving her own money to help people who have nothing and trying to make ends meet or need to put food on their table. She is so kind to everyone and treats these special people like they are VIPs- especially needed, since often society looks down on these people. Linda truly makes a difference, and it’s just who she is, and she has been doing this for the last 41 years. She embodies all the criteria for the DAISY nurse. She is a team player who coordinates the clinic to run smoothly. Critical thinking is evident as she troubleshoots problems both at work and at the clinic. Her empathy, compassion, and patient focus for these patients is inspirational; she does have a heart of gold. She is a wonderful nurse who exemplifies excellence and makes a huge difference in many people’s lives and is very deserving of this prestigious DAISY Award. Manager Input: Linda is an excellent employee and member of our UTMB Family. Linda is someone we should all aspire to be. I often ask myself, how does she do it all? Not only does Linda do all the things in the recommendation below, but it doesn’t stop there. Linda also organizes the annual Sherriff charity for children in Galveston county. This is a large undertaking, and the joy she brings to those in need without any expectation is truly admirable. We can always count on Linda to learn, give, and go the extra mile. She represents UTMB with such pride, dedication, and dignity. Linda is one who will always put the well-being of others and our patients before herself. Even in her role now, she fights for our patients to ensure that every denial is reviewed from a clinical perspective to ensure we receive appropriate payments. Linda never ceases to amaze me, and we should all leave a legacy to our community the way she has. If I could describe Linda in one word, it would be “service,” and it would be such an honor for her to receive this award.