Compassion

Ashley Varner, RN
Registered Nurse, Medical/Surgical Floor

Nominated by Sara Thorp, D.O., Board-Certified Physician Ashley was the bedside nurse for a swing bed patient receiving care and who was struggling with behavioral health. After about a week, Ashley picked up on some subtle changes - slightly louder heart murmur, slight pulmonary crackles, slight increase in leg swelling, and shortness of breath. She brought them to the hospitalist's attention and advocated for further evaluation. The patient had received testing, but Ashley realized something had shifted. Because of her clinical acumen and advocacy for her patient, this critically important condition was identified and patient was transferred to Covenant for additional care. It's not too much to say that Ashley's close attention and care likely saved this patient's life. She also stayed past the end of her shift to help support the patient through her sadness and fear about transfer and was with her until the transport team rolled the gurney to the ambulance. She demonstrated sharp clinical skills, attention to detail and empathy with the patient’s emotional response to the situation, this exemplifies the best of compassionate nursing care.

Compassion

Jessica Gomez
Registration Clerk, Hobbs Medical Clinic

Nominated by Fernanda Valdovinos De Dios, Clinic Registration Coordinator A new patient came in seeking care and mentioned they were new to town and homeless. While I was assisting the patient, Jessica overheard and relayed information about local resources and asked the patient if they were interested. The Patient confirmed they were interest but mentioned they not have a phone or transportation; Jessica went out of her way to contact the facility asking for information and availability. After providing information, the director of the resources center came to the clinic to speak with the patient in person after the visit was completed and provided resources. Our patient was very grateful and thanked us for our time. Jessica showed true compassion for this individual and was able to shed some light on the patients' current life situation.

Compassion

Paige Clement, PT Physical Therapist, Outpatient Services

Nominated by Susan Reeves, SLP, Speech Language Pathologist I would like to nominate Paige Clements, Pediatric Physical Therapist at Nor-Lea. Paige is one of 2 Dynamic Movement Intervention (DMI) Certified Therapists in all of New Mexico and a desperate mother found her name on a DMI website. Dynamic Movement Intervention Therapy requires intensive intervention several times daily for several days, however, due to lack of pediatric therapists, treatments can be reduced to one day of treatment a week and a massive waiting list. Undeterred, Paige tried to seek scheduling solutions but could not, she sought resources to help the family pay for this DMI treatment, as many insurances do not want to pay for extensive treatments for several days, several times a day.  Beyond all of those hurdles Paige also sought help to secure housing for this mother and her son while they were in treatment. Paige’s solution was the only one she had:  do it herself at home, work out a payment that is affordable for this family and let them know housing can be obtained. 

Paige Clement was determined to help this family. Her heart was wide open and her compassion was her driving force.  There had to be a way to make this happened for this little boy and she could not take no for answer, so she kept seeking answers until God laid the path out for her to help him. She is an excellent example of a clinician who goes above and beyond, as do so many other people throughout the walls of Nor-Lea.  She is a huge example of professionalism, compassion, integrity and yielding determination.  This is not a job or just a paycheck for Paige Clements. She has been called to serve and she does to the best of her ability.   I am proud to have worked beside her, here at Nor-Lea.

Empowerment

Manuela Hernandez
Financial Staff Accountant, Finance

Nominated by Monique Galindo, Accounting Manager
Manuela took the initiative to investigate a discount saving measure through one of our vendors that has saved the hospital thousands in the last few months. Her job in regard to invoicing, is to receive all incoming invoices, pay the bills in a timely manner and verify that invoices are coded correctly. She has exceeded this job scope in varies ways. I have witnessed her growth and am extremely proud of her commitment to take ownership of her role and make meaningful decisions that impact the organization in a positive aspect. She went a step further and researched how she could increase efficiency within her payment processing to save money. Abbott Laboratories has a two percent discount on all reagent invoices if paid within ten days. Manuela made the decision to start paying the invoices within the ten days pending approval. Although a two percent discount doesn’t sound like a lot, but when most invoices are in the thousands, the two percent discounts add up. She began in November 2024 and saved the hospital over $8,000 through March. That is a huge savings opportunity that she felt empowered to make on her own. Manuela enters upwards of 700 invoices every month and although entering the invoices is repetitive work that may seem simple, it is not. She has a mixture of vendors who have different term requirements, residency stipends/loans, and contract employees. The different terms are either monthly, beginning or ending of month, 15 days, 20 days, 30 days, biweekly, and even weekly. Keeping up with multiple deadlines can, at times, be overwhelming. She even takes it a step further and satisfies internal/external vendor requests if appropriate; some contract employees would like their check by Thursday at noon biweekly instead of Friday, some vendors would rather a phone call to pick up their check in house rather than wait for the check to arrive via mail, some residents would prefer their check be direct deposited instead of mailed, etc. These are just a few of the special handling instructions she has taken on. Manuela holds herself accountable to meet all the different deadlines and prioritizes organization in her workspace. She has a calendar she fills out every month, an invoice log she fills out daily and an extensive end of the month check she completes to verify what invoices have not been received and may need to be accrued. I think her dedication and accountability to her work is something to value, as her manager, I am beyond blessed to have her be a part of my team.

Empowerment

Miranda Camarillo,
CT Technologist, Imaging

Nominated by Alyssa Byrd | Radiology Manager
We had a multiple person, multi vehicle accident with children and adults involved. While scanning one of the young kids Miranda noticed a brain bleed in a young child. Once the report came back, she noticed they didn't mention it. Miranda called me for a review of the case. Once I reviewed, I agreed and contacted the reading radiologist. He quickly agreed and notified the facility. Miranda felt empowered to speak up when she noticed some abnormal imaging. They were able to get the child transferred for further treatment. Without Mirandas knowledge and follow-up this could have been missed. I am super proud of her for speaking up. It can be difficult to speak up when disagreeing with a radiologist, but her empowerment led to a positive outcome for the patient. She was a huge help during the traumas and is always willing to help.

Nominated by Serenity Collins, RN, Emergency Room I would like to nominate Miranda for an Exceptional Care Award for Empowerment. On a very busy night in the ER, we had 10 people check in for a motor vehicle accident. Miranda and her team were efficient in ensuring that all the patients got their scans done in a timely manner. Miranda performed a CT scan on a patients head and noted an abnormality. Once she was able to, she went back to review his scan and noted that the radiologist had reported the scan as normal. Miranda reviewed the images and still felt concerned, so she contacted her manager who reviewed the images and agreed that the patient appeared to have a subdural hemorrhage. The radiologist was contacted and after reviewing the imaging, the patient was found to have a skull fracture and a subdural hemorrhage. We were then able to contact the patient's family and have him return to the ER to be transferred for further evaluation. Without Miranda's concern and persistence in ensuring that we had the correct result, the patient could have had a much worse outcome.

Accountability

Victoria Zamora
Certified Scrub Tech, Surgical Services

Nominated by Liberty Espinoza, Surgical Services Director
I am writing to express my heartfelt appreciation for Victoria Zamora and her outstanding dedication and hard work in the Operating Room. Tori consistently demonstrates a strong sense of accountability and ownership of the department and is deeply committed to the success of new initiatives.

Most recently, during the implementation of the Pegasus supply system in the OR, Tori took the lead in organizing, minimizing waste, and streamlining our supply processes. She worked closely with the Pegasus team every day and even came in over the weekend to ensure we were fully prepared for surgical procedures on Monday.

Tori, your hard work and dedication have made a significant impact. It is rare to encounter someone who brings such commitment and ownership to everything they do. I feel truly fortunate to have the opportunity to work alongside you. Please accept my sincere thanks for all that you do. Your contributions do not go unnoticed—they are deeply valued and appreciated.

Empowerment

Meredith Snook
Materials Manager, Materials Management

Nominated by Amy Molinar, Director of Ancillary Services
I want to nominate Meredith for the Accountability Exceptional Care Award because Meredith is always willing to help no matter what my areas and I need. Recently she has been helping my departments establish PAR levels and get Pegasus set up. We have encountered some obstacles but Meredith maintains a positive outlook and continues to encourage us and ensure it will all be good in the end. She is hard on herself for not getting our storerooms set up as quickly as she would like, but we appreciate all that she is doing to make things better for us. In the process of getting our storerooms more organized, if she sees a bin that she feels I can use in my areas, she will drop it off in my office. She is truly invested in making things better for us.

Nominated by Liberty Espinoza, Surgical Services Director I want to take a moment to express my appreciation to Meredith for her outstanding leadership and recent efforts in the Pegasus supply project for the hospital. Her accountability and forward-thinking mindset continues to set an example for all of us. Meredith has worked long hours on the Pegasus supply project. This project is a testament to her ability to anticipate our needs and implement solutions that truly make a difference. This addition will help us streamline operations, stay organized, and significantly reduce costs—enhancing both our efficiency and the quality of care we provide.

Thank you for your dedication, insight, and the positive impact you consistently bring to our teams. You hard work does not go unnoticed. Thank you for all you do.

Nominated by Jordan Benard, Director of Business Development and Community Relations Without a lot of heads up, I needed to be out on FMLA. A week or two before my departure and without really being looped into the project, I was informed Robbins and Morton Construction needed a Professional Physicians Center Expansion signage package. In order to complete this package, we needed information from leaders impacted by the expansion. This would take a lot of coordination that my schedule did not allow with my leave. This being completely out of her scope and with so much on her plate, Meredith stepped up to the challenge. She met with leaders, got the floor plans, created an excel document with all the rooms and met with signage company. Not only were room signs accounted for and designed but all way-finding signage as well. This is a very detail-oriented process that needs buy-in from all affected areas to be successful. Meredith knocked it out of the park and, truly, made the process greater than I ever could and will now be adopted for future projects. Meredith received at least 5 shoutouts in our recent managers’ meeting for all the support she gives within and beyond her scope. Meredith is a TRUE asset and gem! I joke that she needs to be recruited into our government or armed forces because she could clean up our nation’s waste! Thank you, Meredith, for all you do and the joy you bring to us all while you do it. You sense of humor is unmatched and I, like many others, really appreciate serving alongside you!