Maria Lourdes Cruz
September 2025
Maria Lourdes
Cruz
,
MSN, RN, PMH-BC
Psychiatry and 7Medicine
Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN)
Chicago
,
IL
United States
She is a true role model for exemplary practice and is highly regarded and well respected because she remains very much involved in the practice and inspires her co-workers to help improve patient care, experience, and outcome as well as staff satisfaction and retention.
Maria Lourdes “Malou” Amistad Cruz, MSN, RN, PMH-BC is the inaugural winner of the AMSN DAISY Nurses Advancing Health Equity Award. She currently works as a Patient Care Coordinator for Psychiatry and 7Medicine at the University Hospital in San Antonio, Texas.
Due to her broad experience and outpouring humility, she is well-loved by her colleagues and patients because she strongly advocates for their safety and supports them all the way. She is a true role model for exemplary practice and is highly regarded and well respected because she remains very much involved in the practice and inspires her co-workers to help improve patient care, experience, and outcome as well as staff satisfaction and retention.
Malou is an active member of the AMSN San Antonio Chapter, where she currently serves as the Education Committee Co-Chair. Because of her exceptional leadership qualities, she was elected as the President of the San Antonio Psychiatric Nurses Association (2021–2023) and is currently the Chair of the Membership Committee.
She is also a member of the Texas Nurses Association, the Philippine Nurses Association of America, and the local chapters. Due to her outstanding contributions at her workplace and in the community, she was nominated for and awarded various honors, such as Nursing Excellence Awards, Psychiatric Nurses Impact Awards, San Antonio Healthcare Heroes, and Daisy and Gold Awards.
She was recognized by One Philippines Texas as one of the Filipino-American Women Leaders in Texas in celebration of Women’s History Month in March 2023. She was also awarded as one of the 2023 South Texas Nurse Image-makers presented by TNA District 8. Recently, she was awarded as one of the Best 25 Nurses of South Central Texas, organized by the San Antonio Nursing Consortium in January 2025.
Malou’s exceptional service to the community is one of her greatest strengths and the reason she was chosen as this year’s award recipient. She organizes many charity drives and engages in community outreach programs, which include San Antonio Clubhouse, San Antonio Food Bank, Salvation Army, and Haven for Hope. She also organized donations to the victims of the Uvalde shooting and the Ukrainian victims of war, participated in vaccination efforts during the pandemic, and supported community outreach back-to-school supply drives.
For the past four years, she has led her team and participated in the yearly National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) Walk and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Out of the Darkness Walk. She strongly advocates for climate change, focusing on environmental health and justice to improve and maintain a clean and healthy environment.
Due to her broad experience and outpouring humility, she is well-loved by her colleagues and patients because she strongly advocates for their safety and supports them all the way. She is a true role model for exemplary practice and is highly regarded and well respected because she remains very much involved in the practice and inspires her co-workers to help improve patient care, experience, and outcome as well as staff satisfaction and retention.
Malou is an active member of the AMSN San Antonio Chapter, where she currently serves as the Education Committee Co-Chair. Because of her exceptional leadership qualities, she was elected as the President of the San Antonio Psychiatric Nurses Association (2021–2023) and is currently the Chair of the Membership Committee.
She is also a member of the Texas Nurses Association, the Philippine Nurses Association of America, and the local chapters. Due to her outstanding contributions at her workplace and in the community, she was nominated for and awarded various honors, such as Nursing Excellence Awards, Psychiatric Nurses Impact Awards, San Antonio Healthcare Heroes, and Daisy and Gold Awards.
She was recognized by One Philippines Texas as one of the Filipino-American Women Leaders in Texas in celebration of Women’s History Month in March 2023. She was also awarded as one of the 2023 South Texas Nurse Image-makers presented by TNA District 8. Recently, she was awarded as one of the Best 25 Nurses of South Central Texas, organized by the San Antonio Nursing Consortium in January 2025.
Malou’s exceptional service to the community is one of her greatest strengths and the reason she was chosen as this year’s award recipient. She organizes many charity drives and engages in community outreach programs, which include San Antonio Clubhouse, San Antonio Food Bank, Salvation Army, and Haven for Hope. She also organized donations to the victims of the Uvalde shooting and the Ukrainian victims of war, participated in vaccination efforts during the pandemic, and supported community outreach back-to-school supply drives.
For the past four years, she has led her team and participated in the yearly National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) Walk and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Out of the Darkness Walk. She strongly advocates for climate change, focusing on environmental health and justice to improve and maintain a clean and healthy environment.