Previous Award Recipients
Quarter 4, 2024
Compassion
Leticia Juarez
Coder, Nor-Lea Hospital District
Nominated by Emily Marinovich | HIM Manager I would like to nominate Leticia Juarez for an iCare award. She exemplified compassion, respect, and empowerment. On December 13th while in the office with her coworkers one of the girls received a call from her husband saying he had just been in an accident. The staff member was frantic and trying to get the details from her husband, but he was confused and panicked and was unable to speak clearly. The employee jumped up from her seat leaving all her items behind and ran out of the office. Without being asked and with no hesitation Lety jumped from her seat and chased behind the employee. In the parking lot, Lety caught up with her coworker, where she had her stop the vehicle and told her she was not in the right state of mind to drive. She motioned her coworker to get into the passenger seat and she would drive her. She was then made aware that the accident had occurred outside of Carlsbad, but she did not waver. Lety had driven nearly to Carlsbad to be there for her coworker and to make sure she was safe, when the coworker’s husband was then taken via ambulance to Hobbs and Lety then drove her there. She only messaged me to make sure she was clocked out for the time that she was out of the office, once everything was figured out. Lety is a single mom, and her time is essential for her family, but she did not let that, or any other thoughts stop her from helping someone in need. She models these same behaviors every day in the dept. She is reliable, helpful, kind, and a great friend to all the staff and is more than deserving of the iCare award.
Compassion
Dr. Naveen Kumar Sarakanti,
Physican, Family Health Center
Nominated by Angelique Escobar | Primary Care Nurse Manager We received a call from a 90-year-old woman named Wanda Wheeler who expressed her inability to complete the survey regarding Dr. Sarakanti due to her vision. She requested a follow-up call to provide her statement over the phone. Mrs. Wheeler wishes to commend Dr. Sarakanti for his exceptional dedication and hard work towards her and her family. She appreciated a gesture where she texted him "Happy Halloween" and he responded, an act that she felt went above and beyond his duties as a physician, significantly uplifting her spirits. She shared that during her husband's hospitalization, he sadly passed away. In their time of grief, Dr. Sarakanti and his wife visited to offer their condolences and brought flowers to her and her family. Dr. Sarakanti consistently exemplifies exceptional dedication to his patients and demonstrates unparalleled skill in his profession. I have personally witnessed the compassion he exhibits in his clinic.
Compassion
Victor Manriquez
RN, Nor-Lea Hospital District
Nominated by Alyssa Byrd | Radiology Manager
I would like to nominate Victor for the value of compassion for the care he shows daily but especially the care he showed today. We had a patient come into the radiology department for a CT. The patient has autism as well as other disabilities. The patient is nonverbal as well. When bringing the patient back to the CT room the patient had soiled herself. The caregiver had nothing to change her. Victor, who was there to assist with her IV, jumped right in and got the necessary things to change her. The caregiver wasn't comfortable with changing the patient, so Victor jumped right in without even questioning it. He got her cleaned up and changed then quickly got her IV on the first stick. Victor showed great compassion towards this patient. Victor, along with the radiology team, stepped in to help, even though it wasn't an emergency room patient, and they played a key role in reaching a diagnosis for her. We couldn't have done it without his teamwork.
Accountability
Lizbeth Sepulveda
CMA, Lovington Medical Clinic
Nominated by Angela Tharnish | Nurse Practitioner
To the Exceptional Care Committee at Nor-Lea Hospital District, I would like to recommend Ms. Lizbeth Sepulveda, who is a Medical Assistant in the Extended Hours Clinic. She works next to me and for her dedication in providing exceptional care related to the iCare values, I would love to have her recognized. As a provider here at Nor-Lea Hospital District, I am fully aware of the busy days we have as a provider and how patients and their families continually look for our direction in the care we provide. The reason I choose to have her recognized is due to how she is continually showing up with a positive attitude and outlook in the care we provide for our patients. She is innovative in that when the office is presented with a problem, she is able to think outside the box and explore new possibilities. She is compassionate in that she has an attitude of serving others and she has a friendly disposition at all times. Patients find it easy to speak to her and share often difficult information. She always has a smile and if she has frustration, it is not noticeable at all. She strives to provide the best in patient care, putting patient's minds at ease, especially when giving inoculations. She presents with accountability. I am able to do the job I do because she is by my side, and I can fully trust that she will do what is asked to be done. She presents with respect in that she shows and gains mutual respect in terms of providers and patients alike. She does not see titles; she sees a person whether it be a provider or a patient. She presents with empowerment in that she does what is in the best interest of patients and she is willing to take the extra time to ease a patient's worries or provide more information that is easily understandable to the patient. Addition info: Specific instance where it was toward the end of the shift and Liz was looking at the patients scheduled for the next day. There was a patient scheduled for left arm pain and that immediately was a concern for Liz. Liz called the patient to further discuss when the pain started having this pain and any other symptoms; at that point after talking to the patient, Liz was concerned that he may be having a heart attack. Liz informed Angela what was happening, and it was determined the patient should go to the ER that evening instead of waiting for his office visit the next day. Liz followed up the next day. The patient did have a heart attack and ended up being transferred to another facility for further care. This was only caught because Liz took the initiative to further assess the situation and potentially saved his life.
Empowerment
Amanda Romero
LPN, Professional Physicians Center
Nominated by Kimberly Jimenez | PPC Manager
I want to nominate Amanda Romero for exceptional care because she has gone above and beyond for a patient here at Nor Lea. Amanda assisted another coworker in helping a patient who had nowhere to go and had tried many different options. Amanda took the patient to Hobbs to the Guidance Center to help her to secure resources and place to stay. Amanda took the patient to the gas station and purchased her gas. Amanda has shown genuine concern for this patient’s wellbeing, and I feel so proud to have her on our team
Empowerment
Trisha Alvarado
CMA, Professional Physicians Center
Nominated by Kimberly Jimenez | PPC Manager
I want to nominate Trisha Alvarado for exceptional care because she has gone above and beyond for a patient here at Nor Lea. Trisha has been working for weeks to help a patient that became unexpectedly homeless. Trisha set the patient up with financial counseling and assisted the patient in contacting several community outreach organizations to set up hotel stays for a safe place at night, churches during the day, as well as trying to find people to assist with food. Trisha came to me after several weeks of trying to assist the patient and asked if she could organize for the patient to use a phone while here at Nor Lea for one of many appointments to help the patient call to get her disability reinstated. Trish also has tried to help locate a more long-term shelter for the patient but ran into a roadblock due to the shelter being in Hobbs and the patient not having transportation to get back to Lovington to make all her of Doctor’s appointment. Trish has shown genuine concern for this patient’s wellbeing, and I feel so proud to have her on our team.