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Rise & Lead with Rhonda Brandon
In 2021, Wambi launched the annual Nurse of the Year Award to shine a light on the outstanding nurses we support at Wambi nationwide.
Users of the Wambi platform nominate a nurse who embodies one of Wambi’s core values: Gratitude, Compassion, Joy, Imagination, and Fearlessness.
The purpose of the annual initiative is to promote nurse recognition, build a culture of gratitude, and inspire feelings of teamwork and belonging.
Congratulations to all of the winners and honorable mentions, and thank you to each nominator for highlighting these incredible nurses.
Read on for the winning nominations!
Raul Gonzalez – Wambi Nurse of the YearUniversity of Miami’s UHealth
“Your unwavering dedication to patient care is truly awe-inspiring. Your compassion, expertise, and tireless efforts make a profound difference in the lives of those you serve. Your ability to comfort, heal, and advocate sets a standard of excellence for us all. Your commitment to continuous learning and selflessness are a testament to your remarkable character. Thank you for your invaluable contributions, kindness, and unwavering commitment to improving the world, one patient at a time. He is truly the epitome of what it means to be the best nurse. His compassion, care, and dedication to our patients are unique.”
“I am thrilled to nominate Nurse Raul Gonzalez Machado from the University of Miami Health System for the prestigious title of Wambi Employee of the Year. Raul has been an outstanding member of our healthcare team since joining us in 2020, and his contributions have been truly exceptional. Raul began his journey with us on the Surgical Oncology Stepdown unit, demonstrating unwavering dedication and a commitment to excellence from the outset. In recognition of his exemplary performance and leadership skills, he was promoted to the role of Charge Nurse in 2022, where he continued to excel. During 2023, Raul’s dedication to professional development and patient care shone brightly as he completed the WTA class and training, emerging as the department’s wound care champion. His expertise in wound care has been instrumental in our efforts to reduce Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries (HAPIs), aligning perfectly with our Zero Harm Projects. What truly sets Raul apart is his remarkable compassion, charisma, and proficiency as a nurse, as evidenced by the numerous accolades he has received from our patients on the Wambi platform. Raul embodies the core values of nursing and fully aligns with the mission of the University of Miami Health System. In summary, Raul’s outstanding contributions, dedication to patient care, and embodiment of our organizational values make him an exceptional candidate for the Wambi Employee of the Year award. I wholeheartedly endorse his nomination and believe he is truly deserving of this honor.”
“Raul is the most dedicated, caring, and empathetic nurse I know. I believe that he deserves and has earned this nomination for his excellent hard work and effort. He is not just kind to his patients and their families but also shows compassion for his coworkers and is a true team player. He is loved by all the patients in his unit and also by his coworkers. His nursing skills are exceptional and his knowledge is impressive. If you had choose one nurse in the UM tower think of him. When he is called for the nomination, you will know that he is the right choice when you hear the cheering and applause. I am nominating whom I believe to be the best for this award.”
Amanda Warwick – Honorable MentionMarshfield Health System
Aundrea B. – Honorable MentionUSC Arcadia/Methodist Hospital of Southern California
Corinne Tortorici – Wambi Nurse of the YearHackensack Meridian Health
“Corinne Tortorici is a hardworking, one-of-a-kind, RN belonging to the Neonatal ICU. The first day I met Corinne I was in complete awe of her. She is a light that brightens the darkest of rooms and she is the glue that holds our unit together. I had the honor of being trained by her and when I say there is no nurse who shows as much joy, gratitude, compassion, imagination, and fearlessness as her, I can proudly say it with no ounce of doubt.
Corinne’s work attitude is contagious among our peers. She is the “mom” of our night shift crew and will go above and beyond for not only her patients, but her peers as well. She will celebrate the little victories as if they were life changing, for example the first time I successfully got my first IV, she applauded and marched around our unit announcing it as if I had just won a gold medal at the Olympics. She is compassionate about her job and will put her neck on the line time and time again for her patients. One of the first things she told me was, “these patients are voiceless, and it is our job to be their voice, no matter what,” and she has shown this every day and every minute she spends with the neonatal population. Corinne is creative in her work and will come up with a solution to any problem. She is fast on her feet and her mind works in ways I could only one day hope mine will. Working with this specific population of patients, we need to learn to be creative and use our brains to come up with solutions that aren’t always very clear. Corinne is always able to help her peers and shine some light on the not obvious answers. She encourages us to critically think and be our best selves and I can honestly say she is the best nurse I have ever worked with.
While I can sit and write on and on about how Corinne deserves to be recognized as nurse of the year, I feel that it is also important to acknowledge that she isn’t just a great nurse, but a great person as well. She is like the sunshine after a storm and a warm cup of coffee in the morning. Corinne never fails to let you know how great you’re doing and how proud of you she is. She is honest, realistic, and really just amazing inside and out. Like I previously stated, I am honored to be able to work side-by-side with such a one-of-a-kind nurse and I believe it is our job to recognize greatness and finally return of the favor by telling Corinne how great she is doing and how proud of her we are. With that being said, I nominate Corinne Tortorici for Nurse of the Year.”
Benedicta Macaraeg – Honorable MentionUSC Arcadia/Methodist Hospital of Southern California
Katie McCaw – Honorable MentionProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital
Mandeep Chauhan – Honorable MentionKaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center
Britta Mousel – Honorable MentionMarshfield Health System
Liuva Ley – Honorable MentionUniversity of Miami’s UHealth
Jodi Linzmeier – Wambi Nurse of the YearMarshfield Health System
“I am a new employee to the ACS department. Throughout my whole orientation thus far Jodi has made me feel welcome in my new role. If I don’t understand something she takes the extra time to show me what I need to do my job, even if she is busy doing other things as she typically is. She understands work life balance and I appreciate her flexibility with the work schedule. I would like to nominate her for the Wambi Nurse of the Year award.”
“Jodi has always been a fantastic leader and mentor in Anticoagulation Services, however, over the last several months, with the implementation of Cerner, she has consistently gone above and beyond to clarify, create, implement and document workflows for the ease of the staff. Jodi consistently strives to provide accurate information that is user friendly. Often times, the workflow has to be redesigned and Jodi strives to give the department the most up to date information to make the jobs of her department staff easier. She goes above and beyond for the department and is very humble about her contribution to the department. Without her dedication and integrity, I am sure that the success of our department would be at a different level. She has put in countless hours to help with our success and has done this while onboarding/training new staff and coordinating training for current staff. I have been at other organizations with a system change and did not have this kind of dedication from a leader. This dedication sure makes the difference for staff in that she promotes a team environment and is an exemplary example of what others strive to be!”
“Jodi is an excellent assistant Manager. She is very knowledgeable, always willing to help and goes above and beyond for our whole team and co workers. She has been putting in countless hours to help with Cerner training, creation of resources, orientation, schedule changes, and diligently problem solving with others. She continually shows genuine caring and dedication not only to this team but the organization.”
Oliver Santos – Honorable MentionUniversity of Miami’s UHealth
Marquis Warren – Honorable MentionProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital
Kristin Hoffman – Honorable MentionKaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center
Mandy Coleman – Honorable MentionHackensack Meridian Health
Angela Luotonen – Honorable MentionMethodist Hospital of Southern California
Eileen Kuester – Wambi Nurse of the YearUniversity of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health Medical Center
“Eileen is a very compassionate nurse who is always looking out for her patients, and other nurse’s patients. I witnessed her compassion with a patient that was not hers but was in the process of dying and on COVID isolation. The patient’s family was unfortunately not able to be present during the time of her death. Eileen took time out of her busy schedule to sit with the patient and hold her hand. What great compassion.”
Katelyn Malcheski – Honorable MentionAurora Medical Center Oshkosh
Jim Sobrera – Honorable MentionEast Orange General Hospital
Nancy Been – Honorable MentionKaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center
Rebecca Price – Honorable MentionUniversity of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health Medical Center
Monica N. – Honorable MentionMethodist Hospital of Southern California
Being a nurse requires that we fulfill many roles for the well-being of our patients. We provide the hand to hold, the shoulder to cry on, the ears to listen, and the smile behind the mask! Nursing will never just be a job, it’s a calling.
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