Gendia Bonvillian exhibits all the qualities needed to be an excellent nurse. She has outstanding time and attendance. She has great problem-solving skills, hardworking, caring, a great patient advocate, and a strong leader that works well with everyone.

During Hurricane Ida, she lost everything, and yet, she still showed up every day with a smile on her face, eager to work. The care, compassion, and empathy she continued to show to the patients went above and beyond anything I have seen, especially at one of the most difficult times in her own life. I was in awe of how she remained calm, kept smiling, and was always willing to help someone else. She has a heart of gold and she shows it daily, whether it is assisting with a co-pay, donating clothing or shoes, or just taking the time to listen and acknowledge someone's feelings. For each patient, she tries to be a problem solver and she tries to instill a little bit of hope to let them know someone really cares about them, even when they feel they don't have anyone.

We all know mental health can be a very stressful field, but even when the unit is very acute, she has a way of remaining incredibly calm in high-stress situations. With her co-workers she is always a team player and very flexible and willing to swap a shift or work different hours in order to help if they had a scheduling conflict.

Lastly, I can't forget that she is very dedicated. I will never forget when she had to go out on medical leave, and she would still constantly call the unit to see if there was anything she could do to help out, even though she was supposed to be at home recovering. She also wanted to return to work ASAP because she was eager to get back to caring for patients.