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In 2014, The Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation developed the Weezie’s Angel Healthcare Hero Award in honor of Louise “Weezie” Batz to recognize those individuals in a hospital setting who go above and beyond in caring for patients, creating awareness, making good catches, and advocating for patient safety.
While the Weezie’s Angel Healthcare Hero Award is an opportunity to honor each recipient’s commitment to safety, it can never truly convey our gratitude and thanks for the service they provide. Their ability to comfort, heal and save lives is truly extraordinary.
2025 Honorees
Erika Bowen, PHD
Erika Bowen, PhD, is Executive Director of the Patient and Family Resource Center and Patient Family Advisory Council at University Health in San Antonio. She leads initiatives that empower patients, families, and caregivers to be active partners in care through advocacy, education, and system collaboration. Since launching the first PFAC in 2015, Dr. Bowen has expanded the program to four councils with over 95 advisors, contributing to more than 160 improvement initiatives. She is currently co-developing a new Patient, Family, and Caregiver Resource Center and holds faculty appointments at UT Health San Antonio and the University of the Incarnate Word.
Mary-Helen Chaplin, PharmD, BCPS, BCCP
Mary Helen Chaplin’s journey into pharmacy was driven by a deep desire to make a meaningful difference in patient care. With a background in clinical pharmacy and board certifications in both pharmacotherapy and cardiology, she has spent her career ensuring that medications are used safely, effectively, and with the patient’s best interest at the forefront. Her expertise in medication safety, process improvement, and education has made her a go-to resource for nurses, physicians, and pharmacy colleagues. She doesn’t just analyze data—she sees the patients behind the numbers. She doesn’t just review cases—she finds solutions that protect lives.Baylor University Medical Center Dallas
Patricia A. Clarke DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC, CPHON
Dr. Patricia Clarke is an Assistant Professor at the University of the Incarnate Word with more than 25 years of experience in pediatric nursing. Board certified in Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nursing, she has cared for children across Texas and shared her expertise nationally through teaching and publications. Dr. Clarke is dedicated to advancing patient safety by training future nurses to recognize subtle changes in patient conditions, remain vigilant at the bedside, and uphold best practices without shortcuts—ensuring safe, high-quality care for every child.
Sarah Cobb, PharmD
With 13 years of specialized experience at St Luke's, Sarah serves as a NICU pharmacist in a Level IV, 36 bed neonatal intensive care unit. Sarah plays a vital role in optimizing medication therapy and ensuring patient safety for the most vulnerable infants. As a nicu pharmacist she stands on the front lines, ensuring daily that babies are receiving the proper dosing of medications and helping prevent medical errors. She even checks home prescriptions that medically fragile babies have received and has caught errors made by outside pharmacies that could have significantly impacted patients.
Suzanne Scism Hildebrand
After her husband Ray suffered a stroke in 2008, Suzanne Scism Hildebrand and her family discovered there were no hospitals in San Antonio with stroke care certifications. With no other option, Ray had to be airlifted to Austin for treatment. That experience ignited Suzanne’s determination to change the system. She became a driving force behind bringing certified stroke care to South Texas, leading to stroke certifications at Baptist Health System hospitals, University Hospital, and later Methodist Hospitals. Suzanne has served four terms on the Texas Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke Council and continues to serve today as its Chair—the first woman and non-physician ever to hold that role. Suzanne has spent her life fighting for victims, families, and lasting change in public health and safety.
Deborah Jacobs
Debbie Jacobs serves as a Care Coordinator at Avionn Home Health, where she is recognized as an advocate for patients and families. She goes above and beyond to ensure safe transitions home from hospitals and surgeries by thoughtfully matching caregivers’ skills with each patient’s unique needs. Debbie personally answers calls from families in crisis, offering immediate guidance and reassurance, and takes the extra step of introducing caregivers to patients to build trust and connection. Her dedication and compassion make her an invaluable resource to the community she serves.
Ian Mitchell, MD
Dr. Ian Mitchell’s passion for trauma care began early, inspired by his own experience undergoing lung surgery as a teenager. Guided by the philosophy, “What if this was my kid?” he approaches every patient with the same care and compassion he would want for his own family—an outlook that has shaped lasting relationships with both colleagues and the families he serves. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Mitchell is actively involved with Fresh Start Surgical Gifts, a nonprofit providing reconstructive surgery and comprehensive medical care for children in need. Through this work, he helps ensure that children facing conditions such as cleft palate, ear tags, and traumatic scarring receive life-changing care, especially when insurance coverage falls short.
Patrick T. Reeves, MD, FAAP, DABOM
Dr. Patrick T. Reeves MD, FAAP, DABOM is triple board certified in General Pediatrics, Obesity Medicine, and Pediatric Gastroenterology. He currently serves as a Major in the U.S. Army and Medical Director of both the Pediatric Colorectal Center and the Complex Medicine Clinic at Brooke Army Medical Center. A physician-scientist and educator, his research focuses on innovative mobile health technology, creating Clinical Action Plans that improve patient safety by delivering decision support for medical teams and accessible care plans for families. These tools are now impacting care across North America and within the military health system, extending specialized care even into rural and resource-limited communities.
Susan Campbell Urrutia, BSN, RN, CPPS
Susan Campbell Urrutia, is a Registered Nurse and Certified Professional in Patient Safety in the Quality and Patient Safety Department. at Baylor University Medical Center Dallas. Passionate about advancing health equity and patient advocacy, Susan partners with her community in Rowlett through volunteer leadership and her nonprofit, The DEI Community Project, which promotes safe, equitable healthcare and supports LGBTQ+ youth and families. She brings her professional expertise and personal dedication to empowering patients to speak up for their safety and well-being.Baylor University Medical Center Dallas
Donna Beth Willey–Courand, MD
Dr. Donna Beth Willey-Courand MD is a Professor of Pediatrics and the Miss Eloise Alexander Distinguished University Chair in Pediatric Pulmonology at UT Health San Antonio. She specializes in the care of children with cystic fibrosis, with a focus on advancing therapies that improve both quality of life and long-term survival. In addition to her clinical expertise, she plays an active role in research, participating in studies that evaluate new pulmonary and nutritional treatments for children living with cystic fibrosis. Her commitment to patient safety and innovation has made a lasting impact on the lives of patients and families across South Texas and beyond.
Allison Hays Lane
Allison Hays Lane serves as Executive Curator of SaludArte, where she has led transformative efforts to integrate art into healthcare. Under her visionary leadership, SaludArte has grown to showcase hundreds of artists and create meaningful art experiences that inspire healing, comfort, and hope for patients, families, and the broader community. Her work has uplifted local artists and small businesses while redefining the role of creativity in patient care. Most recently, Allison guided the art integration of University Health’s Women’s & Children’s Hospital, ensuring the new facility reflects discovery, calm, and resilience.
Allison is the winner of our 2025 Rosie's Art Award.
Allison is the winner of our 2025 Rosie's Art Award.
Nancy K. Maebius, PhD, MSN, BSN, RN
From being one of four founding faculty members in 1969 of the School of Nursing at the University of Texas Health Science Center, to her current role as community relations liaison and consultant at Galen College of Nursing, Dr. Nancy K. Maebius has focused on patient safety throughout her career. She has more than 50 years experience in medical-surgical nursing, maternal-child nursing, pediatric nursing, staff development, clinical research, and nursing education. Dr. Maebius is the author of several nursing textbooks and is a strong advocate for use of the Batz Safety Guide. She believes that nurses are in a unique position to promote patient safety and to reduce medical errors in nursing education and practice.
Dr. Maebius is the winner of our 2025 NAN Scholarship Award.
Dr. Maebius is the winner of our 2025 NAN Scholarship Award.
Annesha White, PharmD, MS, PhD
Dr. Annesha White is the Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Associate Professor at the UNT Health Science Center with a research focus on medication safety, health systems resilience, and interdisciplinary collaboration. She is a member in the PROMIS Lab, a multidisciplinary team, led by Dr. Yan Xiao, dedicated to reducing medication-related harms among older adults through systems engineering and community partnerships. One of the team's most recent projects focuses on using artificial intelligence to develop educational videos and chatbots for increased patient engagement in their own care and safety. On behalf of PROMIS Lab Team, UT Arlington, University of North Texas Health, JPS Health Network, and Johns Hopkins, Dr. White is the winner of our 2025 J. Pat O'Connell Technology Award.
2023 Honorees
Aracelli Alvarez
Aracelli Alvarez is a nurse of ten years, a majority of that in Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology. Aracelli enjoys leading new chemotherapy nurses at BAMC in learning chemotherapy administration, protocols, and overall care for Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
patients as well as the general pediatric population of patients.
Aracelli’s motivation is to give her patients the nurse they would want their family member to have as well as giving her colleagues a trustworthy, energetic team player.
patients as well as the general pediatric population of patients.
Aracelli’s motivation is to give her patients the nurse they would want their family member to have as well as giving her colleagues a trustworthy, energetic team player.
Edward Banos
Edward Banos has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of University Health System in San Antonio for the past eight years, bringing strong accountability and innovation across more than 27 clinics. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he led efforts to launch drive-thru testing, provide accurate public health information, and open one of Texas’s first and largest mass vaccination sites.
As COO, Mr. Banos plays a key role in developing collaborative programs between UT Health and University Health to improve patient care, operations, and administrative processes. He is also leading the team for the new Women’s and Children’s Tower, ensuring it reflects the system’s mission and patient-first commitment.
As COO, Mr. Banos plays a key role in developing collaborative programs between UT Health and University Health to improve patient care, operations, and administrative processes. He is also leading the team for the new Women’s and Children’s Tower, ensuring it reflects the system’s mission and patient-first commitment.
Kris Blair & Huckleberry
Kris Blair joined the Therapy Dog Program at BAMC with her dog Huckleberry in 2018. The program has grown to include over 7 additional therapy dogs. She volunteers 40+ hours per week coordinating visits by the therapy dogs/handlers to patients across the hospital. During patient safety week in 2022, Kris partnered with the patient safety team to go to all BAMC outlying clinics as a way to improve staff and patient morale. This made both patients and staff so happy, with some even brought to tears as they explained how stressed life has been. This service is outstanding and brings joy to BAMC patients and staff in a way that is incomparable to anything else.
Charlotte Davis
Charlotte Davis, MPM, BSTM, LVN, is the Founder, President, and CEO of Black Nurses Rock San Antonio Chapter, a nonprofit 501c3 organization that inspires and empowers innovated leaders to serve vulnerable communities through education, mentorship, scholarship, and service. Ms. Davis volunteers her time with the Multiple Sclerosis Society of San Antonio, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Grant Committee with UT Health San Antonio, the Patient Safety Council at Wilford Hall Medical Center, and the Performance Improvement Team at BAMC. Ms. Davis has been an incredible advocate for community outreach activities, and her commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is unparalleled.
Teresa Davila
Teresa Davila is the Women's Services Administrative Assistant at Methodist Children's Hospital. Teresa is an inspiration to those around her and has a true passion to help the community. She places large coloring sheets in the NICU hallway for staff and families to color and help decrease stress in a highly stressful environment. She does random fun fact quizzes and bingo for staff to keep up morale. She is always helping the Neonatal ICU participate in fundraisers such as March of Dimes and the Rowan Windham Memorial Cereal Drive. Her giving heart and compassion can be seen in everything she does.
Elizabeth Friedman
S. Elizabeth Friedman, RD, is Founder and CEO of Sāfen Medical Products LLC, where she developed and patented standardized IV line identification tags to improve patient safety and communication. She has over 20 years of hospital operations experience, including serving as Director of Dietetic Services at Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia and leading pediatric nutrition at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.
Ms. Friedman has co-authored medical nutrition research and contributed to industry publications. Her work at Sāfen reflects 13 years of research and collaboration with healthcare professionals, engineers, and manufacturers to advance patient safety solutions.
Ms. Friedman has co-authored medical nutrition research and contributed to industry publications. Her work at Sāfen reflects 13 years of research and collaboration with healthcare professionals, engineers, and manufacturers to advance patient safety solutions.
Jennifer Higgins & Budd
Jennifer Higgins provides 1:1 support to patients, families, and staff as they navigate the healthcare system, especially when clinical outcomes are not as expected. She has been a guiding light at BAMC during COVID, listening to the various experiences and providing valuable insight on how to move forward using her fantastic social worker skills. She also obtained approval and training to foster BAMC's first ever staff therapy dog, Budd. This addition is way above and beyond her assigned duties as she took on the challenge of getting him approved, funding, training, and maintenance all on her own. Budd brightens the staff's day when he is around!
Lissa M. Melvin, MD
Dr. Lissa M. Melvin currently serves as an assistant professor in Maternal Fetal Medicine with Baylor College of Medicine at the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. Her interests include pregnancy as a window to future health, obstetric emergencies, and the role and impact that disparities have in medicine. She is an expert panel member of an NIH funded grant, the National Pregnancy Resuscitation Program which focuses on establishing a curriculum to manage and treat maternal cardiac arrest. She has been an active member of the Concerned Haitian/Americans of Illinois (C.H.A.I.) since 2000 during which time she has participated in medical missions to provide health services to Haitians in rural areas.
Pressanna Parackal
Dr. Pressanna Parackal's motto is “let us grow together and serve the community the best we can.” Dr. Parackal has 31 years of experience in the nursing field, serving many countries including India, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and USA. The first 20 years, she worked as a bedside nurse providing compassionate care to patients. Later she moved in her career to be an educator, assisting nurses to pursue post-graduation certifications. She has done individual teaching, and many of her colleagues achieved national certifications and became CPR / ACLS instructors. Her confidence and role modeling helped other nurses to provide care to patients even at the most challenging times.
Emma Rodriguez, MD
Dr. Emma Rodriguez is a Maternal Fetal Medicine Physician at the Children's Hospital of San Antonio. She has dedicated her practice to helping mothers on their journey to having a successful pregnancy and bringing joy to their families. Dr. Rodriguez is passionate about providing high risk obstetric care to women of San Antonio and the surrounding areas. She takes pride in developing relationships with her patients, building trust, and caring for their unborn babies. Her devotion and compassion to her specialty has been highlighted through patient stories on The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Blog.
Irene Sandate
Irene Sandate is Vice President, Associate Chief Nursing Officer (ACNO) Women's and Children's Services at University Health System. Ms. Sandate holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree from UT Health San Antonio, a Master of Science in Nursing from UT Health San Antonio, and a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. In 2022, relative to maternity care and outcomes, patient satisfaction data, newborn complication rates, and available NICU services, Ms. Sandate contributed to University Hospital being recognized as America's Best Maternity Hospitals by Newsweek, the Best Hospital for Maternity Care by Money and The Leapfrog Group, and a 2022-2023 High Performing Hospital for Maternity Care by U.S. News & World Report. Irene has contributed her knowledge and expertise to the design and development of the new University Health Women's & Children's Hospital in San Antonio Texas currently under construction and scheduled to open in August 2023.
Scott Ward
Scott Ward is the Patient Safety Officer at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas (BUMC). He co-leads the Leadership Subgroup of the BUMC Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council. This council exists to advance a culture that passionately promotes a community where all feel welcomed and valued. In his leadership position, he led many lunch/learns for BUMC employees and medical providers on important topics, such as "unconscious bias". He was also an active participant and co-lead at the BUMC community Pride Festival, which promoted unity, love, and advocated healthcare for all. Scott is now rounding with inpatients and invited the BUMC patient advisors to talk about barriers to patient safety. He has enhanced transparency and promoted patient family engagement.
Shari Wofford
Shari Wofford is a NICU social worker at St. Luke’s Baptist in San Antonio. She has been instrumental in partnering with the Baptist Health System NICU team to distribute the NICU Batz Patient Safety Guides. She is a critical member of their team who devotes countless hours to educating their NICU parents and going through the guide with families. Shari is actively engaged and committed to NICU families, helping coordinate with BHS's Family Practice Council and to plan activities such as their NICU family Christmas party. Shari’s expertise includes mother/baby, NICU, women’s services, and crisis intervention and end of life support. She is a true advocate for her patients!
2020 Honorees
Pablo Alaniz, RN
Pablo Alaniz is the Resource Nurse for MCH who has been caring for most of their COVID patients. Since day one of this global crisis, Pablo has always been willing to help where needed. He has set the standard for staff to follow his example to care for our vulnerable pediatric population and continues to extend his hand where help is needed. Pablo always has a positive attitude, works hard, and seeks out opportunities to learn more when time permits. When a change in patient status occurs, Pablo has stepped in and taken the assignment until additional help arrives, and he is truly a patient advocate.
Tommye Austin, PhD, MBA, RN
Tommye is a senior vice president and chief nursing officer of University Health System where she oversees 2,800 nurses. During her three years leading the nursing program she has strengthened staffing and preparation for emergencies by recruiting additional nurses. When COVID-19 threatened, she devised a plan to quickly shift nurses to the patient-care areas where they are most needed. Austin demonstrated her leadership and gained national attention when healthcare employees everywhere feared they would be left unprotected by a shortage of personal protective equipment, PPE, including masks, gowns and gloves. She designed a replacement mask with materials that block more than 96% of airborne particles. She also repurposed a sterilization process used to decontaminate surgical equipment and began using it to clean N95 masks. Now they can be worn three times instead of once, which expands the hospital’s supply of masks.
Juan Castro, LVN
Juan Castro, LVN at Baptist Medical Center (BMC) has emerged as a hero during the COVID pandemic. From the beginning of this crisis, Juan was eager and willing to work directly with COVID patients. His initiative to pick up additional projects like creating thank-you videos for BMC employees and coordinating events for staff to thwart depression, was impressive. Currently, at BMC he is part of the 8D Renal/Medical-Surgical unit and is an invaluable member of their team. His contributions, while working on COVID units has also led to better patient outcomes. His insight and dedication to patient respiratory challenges has saved many patients. His internal drive to help others and to run towards crisis is the true definition of a healthcare hero.
Danielle Cole, RN
Danielle Cole is a Registered Nurse in the 6 South COVID Unit of Methodist Hospital. Danielle's first experience with COVID came from her assignment at MASH, where she was one of the first nurses to volunteer to care for this patient population. Danielle started on 6 South when Methodist expanded from 12 beds to 38. She has excelled in her role as day shift charge nurse. She has helped to develop processes that not only increase the care that Methodist Hospital is able to provide their patients but also shortens discharge time. She confidently leads multidisciplinary rounds and has been recognized by multiple providers for her detailed understanding of every patient on the unit.
Denise Covell, ICP
Denise Covell is the Infection Control Preventionist (ICP) at Northeast Baptist Hospital (NBH). Her expertise in infection prevention and commitment to safe quality practices has led NBH in preventing Hospital Acquired Infections. NBH was the selected hospital by Baptist Health System to be the Critical Care Hub for the most critically ill patients with COVID 19. Denise's knowledge assisted her team in ensuring NBH kept their patients and employees safe. This required environmental changes such as barriers, air filtration and nursing unit configurations. In addition to these adjustments, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), specimen collection, traffic patterns, signage, staff education, endless hours rounding and communicating to staff positioned NBH for the success they have sustained with low employee conversions, quality outcomes and guaranteeing a safe working environment. Denise collaborated with physician partners in establishing guidelines and processes for NBH and their system that have influenced their outcomes in a positive manner.
Shad Deering, MD
Dr. Shad Deering was appointed Medical Incident Commander of The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio’s COVID-19 Task Force in March of 2020. Since that time, he has planned, organized, strategized, and provided inspiration to the 250 medical staff members and more than 1,000 Associates who are part of the area’s first and only freestanding children’s hospital. As a recently retired colonel with the U.S. Army, Dr. Deering has proven himself the ideal choice to lead the hospital’s COVID-19 response. His calm presence, steadfast attention to details, and sense of humor lend an air of confidence and optimism during this challenging time. When he was first asked to assume the role of incident commander, he immediately wrote down three goals: Goals 1-3 read: “Everyone Lives.” And in order to achieve this ultimate goal, he helped establish processes for tracking PPE (personal protective equipment) used by medical staff members and clinicians treating COVID patients and patients with an unknown status. He directed the implementation of universal masking, temperature checks for all those entering the hospital, He also coined his own motto and printed stickers that he shared with everyone: NOT TODAY COVID-19 and he recently updated it to: NOT TODAY COVID-19 NOT TOMORROW.
Mike Eisenberg
Mike Eisenberg is the director of the groundbreaking Documentary, "To Err is Human", which explores medical mistakes as a “silent epidemic” and follows those working to improve patient safety behind the scenes. The movie is named after the Institute of Medicine's Landmark 1999 Report, "To Err is Human", which Michael's Father, Dr. John Eisenberg, Former Director of the Agency for Healthcare and Quality, spearheaded. Dr. Eisenberg along with other leaders on the report found that preventable medical errors killed 98,000 patients per year. Now 20 years later that number has risen to 440,000. The documentary features hospital executives, healthcare leaders, health professors and families severely affected by medical mistakes, but also highlights all the work that is being done every day to help improve patient safety.
Gretta Gast, RN
Gretta Gast is a Registered Nurse in the 2 South COVID Unit of Methodist Hospital. With just over a year of experience, Gretta is assigned the sickest COVID patients in the hospital. While her technical and clinical abilities are of the highest level, what truly sets Gretta apart is the connection she makes with her patients. While caring for a critically ill ECMO patient who was not expected to have a positive outcome, Gretta made an inspirational video to music from the patient’s favorite band. The video was posted on Facebook and went viral, receiving close to a million views. Gretta shared some of the comments with her patient who became motivated by the outpouring of support. She began to walk and eventually left the hospital and is now doing well at her home. Gretta’s actions, not only with this patient but with all of her patients, are in keeping with the highest standards of nursing.
Golda Manalili, MSN, RN-C
Providing safe and quality care has always been Golda’s top priority. As a strong patient advocate, she has coached and guided her team on importance of patient safety, quality of care and the patient experience. Golda herself tirelessly rounds on the patients – day and night, as she believes in leading by example and serving as a good role model for her staff. She urges her charge nurses and primary nurses to join her during rounds so they can learn from her style and approach. As a result, the staff members became increasingly consistent in doing patient rounding which starts at the beginning of the shift, during bedside shift report, then an hourly one. Golda sits as Board Member for multiple organizations. As a member of the San Antonio Nursing Consortium (SANC) Golda was part of the taskforce that launched the first Annual Patient Safety Conference in San Antonio. She was also involved in the inclusion of Patient Safety as one of the major criteria for the selection of the Best 25 Nurses of South Central Texas.
David Mayer, MD
David Mayer has a long history as a dedicated leader on patient safety. His accomplishments include organizing the first nationwide march for patient safety on World Patient Safety Day 2020, an event that will be virtual and collective given the pandemic. At MedStar, David led the health system's implementation of high reliability organization principles and is the founder of MIQS. He also is a founder of the Telluride Experience, which engages patient advocates and students in healthcare professional fields to grow commitment, knowledge and skills in patient safety among the next generation of healthcare leaders. On May 4, 2020, David walked in memory of Louise Batz, in "David's Virtual Walk Across America for Healthcare Safety." We are grateful for his unwavering passion and commitment to patient safety and his ongoing support and partnership with the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation.
Tori Leal, RN, BSN
Tori Leal has been employed with Resolute Health since 2017 as an emergency department charge nurse. She was recently promoted to House Officer where she has transformed this position into a leadership role with her attention to detail and awareness of all facets of the organization. Tori recently answered the call to go to Detroit, Michigan to help with the severe COVID-19 crisis that was unfolding in that region of the country. She brought back and shared very valuable information and experience that was essential to Resolute Health as the COVID crisis moved into our area. Tori emulates warmth, humility and compassion as she serves others and always expresses appreciation to others for their efforts.
Missam Merchant, MBA, BSN, RN
Sam is the hospital supervisor at University Health System, where he is responsible for the day to day clinical and operational activities of the hospital. Sam handles anything from transfers into the hospital, to providing beds to patients to patient complaints and education and resource management. During the COVID pandemic, Sam has worked to identify safety issues, and has helped determine policies, protocols, and configurations that promote staff and patient safety. Sam believes that safety is the basis of every interaction and care that he provides as a nurse, and that it should be our top priority in the COVID pandemic: “I have always been a believer that patient safety is not a finger pointing and shaming and blaming concept. It requires strong leadership who is willing to ask the tough questions and has the passion to improve care from the root of the issue.”
Jessica "Nicky" Smith, RN
Jessica “Nicky” Smith is a shift supervisor on the COVID unit at St. Lukes. Nicky took charge of the COVID unit without hesitation. She has helped to develop and implement interdisciplinary care for all the COVID positive patients on this unit. She helped to create the standard work for team nursing. She has taken ownership of this unit and shows great compassion towards the patients. One patient, whose husband was also hospitalized, wanted desparately to see her husband. Nicky made the arrangements so the two could communicate through a Zoom account. Nicky is also showing leadership to the nurses working on the unit, helping to keep their morale high, keeping them safe, and encouraging them to provide great care. Nicky is a true example of a healthcare hero.
Patty Toney, VP/CNE
Patty Toney currently serves as the Chief Nurse Executive (CNE) for CHRISTUS Health South Texas with nursing oversight of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System, CHRISTUS Spohn Health System and CHRISTUS St. Vincent’s in New Mexico. Her role during the COVID-19 pandemic has become even more critical as she works tireless hours to ensure CHRISTUS nurses are adequately staffed and have sufficient resources to provide seamless, high quality care to every patient in need. She also works closely with STRAC to orchestrate and assign nurses from other entities to meet the growing and changing needs of the pandemic. Nursing is so much more than a passion for Patty; it is truly her calling. Patty has practiced as a nursing professional for over 40 years.
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