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Last year’s National Nurses Week theme “The Year of the Nurse” continues for 2021, with front-line nurse caregivers fighting to save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in early 2020. Then, as a winter storm hit in February this year, Texas nurses were confronted with the great challenge of power outages and water shortages but still rose to the challenge to provide top care for their patients.

Nurses Week, May 6-12, 2021, brings to light a year that demanded changes in safety protocols throughout the medical community, such as remote telehealth patient visits, visitor limitations and masking requirements. Along with patient care also came new duties for diagnostic testing and, once vaccines became available, health care professionals began vaccinating the public.

Makita D. Franklin, RN, clinical educator at UT Physicians, the 2021 Salute to Nurses Diamond Sponsor, said agility has been key in the fight against COVID-19. As a lead nurse at the UTHealth Vaccine Hub, Franklin said getting vaccines into the arms of thousands of Houstonians required the efforts of UT Physicians nurses, as well as student nurses volunteering from the Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth.

“We’ve all been working hard. Our job has been to educate residents, doctors, volunteers and students to prepare them for vaccinations … and then to set up the vaccine hub,” she said. “In June, I was hospitalized with COVID, so providing access to the vaccine is personal. I’m passionate about people getting vaccinated, and in a timely manner.”

She also explained how UT Physicians extends an overall caring environment, not only for each patient, but to staff as well.

“We’re family; COVID has made us closer. We are working to defeat the pandemic … in collaboration at every level,” she said.

A milestone for this vaccination effort was on April 9, 2021, when 71-year-old Beverly Hensley, who had isolated in her home during the pandemic, was vaccinated at the UTHealth Vaccine Hub. Franklin delivered that 100,000th vaccination.

“At every phase of the pandemic, every step of the way to delivering the vaccine, nurses have been working to make the hub happen,” Franklin said.  Salute to Nurses Presenting Sponsor Houston Methodist’s Andrea Harrow, DNP, RN, CEMP, FACHE, vice president of operations and chief nursing officer at Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital, has been a nurse for 31 years. She offered high praise, not only for the hospital’s nursing staff, but also for the community partners who continue to offer their support to hospital staff.

“It was totally unexpected, but businesses sent food and other items. That was invaluable to our morale. We were not forgotten in the chaos of the pandemic,” Harrow said. “Nurses come to work at Houston Methodist because they know they will be respected, supported and given the opportunity to make a difference. Support from the community only underscored this.”

Molding nurse staff members and helping them grow professionally is key.

“We give nurses the training, mentoring and experience they need for a rewarding career. Then, every nurse is free to tailor their responsibilities to achieve their own goals,” Harrow said, adding that the Houston Methodist iCARE values were made even more visible by the nurses’ response to COVID-19 demands.

“This framework helped inform our day-to-day decisions,” she said, “and while the patient load and the pandemic itself demanded flexibility, creativity, and innovation to overcome the sudden barriers we were having to overcome, our nurses continued to go above and beyond to deliver high quality and ‘high touch’ care, as much as was possible with full PPE.”

In the beginning of the pandemic, Harrow said the hospital had to work with uncertainty about what they were dealing with. 

“Our nurses were willing to do whatever it took to make sure our patients received the care they needed, even if it meant taking on different roles to support that goal. Truly, it was a testament to the commitment of these dedicated men and women to the community we serve,” Harrow said.

Diane Santa Maria, DrPH, MSN, RN, dean of the Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth, said that when looking at “the landscape of health care, nurses are at the forefront because of all they do and their importance in our society. Before college, I would watch commercials of ‘save the children, feed the children,’ and those images made me want to spend my work life helping reach health equity.”

Santa Maria said she saw COVID-19 as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for student nurses to understand the rigors nurses face in a pandemic.  “Nurses are there at the best of times and worst, and the future of nursing is secure because we see such good people coming into nursing with the emotional intelligence to work in systems to provide the best patient care possible.”

“During the crisis point of COVID, one of the things you could count on was that nurses would be most creative and most innovative in a challenge. Nurses will always run toward the problem and will be there when the going gets tough,” Santa Maria added.

The Houston Chronicle celebrates these outstanding nursing professionals and presents the Top 15 Nurse winners for 2021:

Aristotle Abad, BSN, RN, CNSRN, CCRN

A native of the Philippines and a nurse for 16 years, Aristotle Abad grew up in a family of farmers, saying life on the farm was pretty challenging. However, a few family members were able to become doctors and nurses. 

“One of my uncles was part of U.S. medical missions, and he became a motivating force for me to become a nurse. This goal not only gave me a way to improve my life, but also to become a better person,” Abad said. “Succeeding in school also gave me the drive to work harder as a nurse.” 

Abad said he was fortunate to be sponsored by his aunt and uncle as he completed his nursing courses at St. Mary’s University in the Philippines. They inspired him by being strong role models in practicing the “Golden Rule,” and in encouraging Abad to incorporate his own spiritual awareness as a nurse. 

“They are my heroes,” he said.

Of the 600 students who began training in Abad’s class at St. Mary’s, only 82 nurses completed the rigorous, difficult training. Abad also was invited to return after graduation to serve as clinical instructor.

Marrying a fellow nurse, Abad and his wife eventually left the Philippines to work at a hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 

“I found a great deal of patient diversity there, but not a big difference in patient-care protocols,” said Abad, now a nurse at Memorial Hermann Memorial City.

He said no one expected the COVID-19 pandemic, and medical caregivers really struggled at first.

“Nurses were leaving, some were getting sick and some were dying, but ours is a great unit with great leadership. We were all there to give the best care and to be there for patients because their families couldn’t be. 

“Initially, I was afraid for my family. We have two kids, my wife and I are both nurses, and we were all new to the U.S.,” he said. “The early days were challenging. Very young patients were unexpectedly passing away. Nurses also were advocates for the patients separated from their families as well as their family members who wanted information. It was a busy time.”

A man of faith, Abad said he leaned heavily on his faith to get through the worst part of the pandemic. 

One of Abad’s nominators wrote: “Aristotle is always passionate about giving the best care and exemplifies the caring heart. He advocates for the needs of the patients. There have been challenging moments in the critical care unit, but his positive attitude creates an atmosphere that helps others and creates happiness and peace of mind. It is always nice to work to a nurse who is knowledgeable, motivated, cheerful, pleasant and energetic. 

“His love of work was truly visible during the pandemic, helping in crises, taking extra shifts, staying at the hospital for six straight days and, at the same time, he kept our unit focused. He deserves this award for making a great impact on the lives of our patients as well our team itself. He is our star and, indeed, is a modern-day hero to us all.”

“Our profession is challenging, but so rewarding,” Abad said. “I believe it is a calling requiring you to update your skills, compassionately attend to the needs of patients, and to always remember, you are handling a life, a loved one, a family member — and are there to give your best.”

Karla Abela, Ph.D., RN, CCRN-K, CPN

Texas Children’s Hospital — Main Campus

A nurse since 2003, Karla Abela grew up near Toronto, Canada. As a student at Philip Pocock Catholic Secondary School, she developed a strong interest in science, which was only natural, since her father was a physician and his mother, a microbiologist. Finding a career in the sciences was an obvious choice, but becoming a nurse was not, even though her sister had become a nurse.

“I received a few academic scholarships for pre-med in Canada,” she said, “but after a semester, I took time off to refocus my career because I wasn’t 100 percent sold on a career in medicine. I then volunteered at a children’s rehabilitation center in Canada. Being there and working with the kids, to my surprise, fueled my desire to become a nurse. I knew the hours would be long. I knew there would be shift work, but helping kids really appealed to me. I’m at my best when helping others, something that must be in my DNA, because I saw my family dedicate themselves to others.” 

Enrolling at Toronto’s Humber College, Abela was a graduate from one of the last diploma nursing programs in Canada. 

“After my class graduated, nurses were required to have a bachelor’s degree,” she said.

 Duke University Hospital in North Carolina recruited Abela, who initially worked in an adult unit.

“I learned quickly I should be in pediatric unit because I believe you should have fun in your career, and I found that in pediatrics,” she said, but she wanted to do more.

In August 2014, she moved over to Texas Children’s Hospital. 

“I earned my master’s degree in 2013 and had two of my boys. During my doctoral studies at UT School of Nursing, I had my third son. The Ph.D. prepares nurse scientists; it also prepared me to lead teams of nurse researchers — to think bigger,” she said. 

An integral part of any institution, nurse scientists generate new knowledge and use methods learned in doctoral programs to propose methods to measure whether or not protocols are working. 

“I lead a team of professionals and they use me to translate the validity of these studies. Ph.D.s were a trusted resource during a pandemic,” she said. “People had little time to evaluate what was happening, so I helped, providing feedback with policy and procedure. I also reviewed a position statement on family presence during the pandemic by a colleague/member of the American Academy of Pediatrics.”

For her work, Abela received the Clinical Research Award from Texas Children’s Hospital. 

As a nominator states, “Karla is the epitome of a nurse. She is talented, kind, compassionate and leads with heart. In her current role as assistant director of clinical practice for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Karla influences clinical practice for some of the sickest patients in the hospital and supports nurses to care for these children using evidence-based practice and quality as guiding principles. Karla recently completed her Ph.D. and has used her passion for research to contribute to pediatric literature in a number of studies.

“Karla truly cares about our people. She finds so much joy in mentoring and supporting others toward their goals.” 

She said being named to this year’s Top 15 Nurses is a huge honor.

“I still cannot believe it — in this hospital and this area,” Abela said. “To me, this honor is recognition of a team’s work, but I was shocked because I’m just doing my job.”

Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital

A nurse for 44 years and working at Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital, Danny Alvarez grew up with a nurse in the family. His father was a military medic in the Korean War, after which he became a nurse and worked with two titans in medicine — cardiac surgeons Dr. Denton Cooley and Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, when the two doctors were working together. Later, while his mother was working at a hospital in Rosenburg, Alvarez — always a curious youngster — often accompanied her, helping with odd jobs. 

“One day, a patient had a heart attack in a room close to where I was and a code was called,” he said. “As I stood out of the way, I watched this man, a nurse named Ben, take control, revive the patient, and as the physician readied the patient for transport to the cardiac ICU, he said something like, ‘Good job, Ben, you saved his life.’ From that time on, I wanted to be like Ben, who was a medic during the Vietnam War. I wanted to save lives. I wanted to be a nurse.”

Growing up in Fort Bend County, Alvarez graduated from Lamar Consolidated High School and enrolled in Wharton County Junior College’s Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program and later transferred to Houston Community College. 

In his career, he has specialized in caring for critically ill patients, but is taking a year off from the demanding, faster-paced nursing areas.

However, whatever his assignment, he takes pride in taking care of his patients’ medical needs and their comfort and then, as time permits, taking care of their human needs as well. 

“When the pandemic began, people were separated from their families. We were all they had, so we took time at the bedside to talk with them, reassuring them and comforting them as we could,” he said. 

As one nomination stated: “I am a nurse who was infected with COVID and was hospitalized. I was scared, in pain, and sad that I could not be around my family. Danny was an exceptional RN and was attentive to all my needs. As I was crying, this man held my hand and wiped my tears away. He gifted me the positivity and therapeutic touch I needed for my healing process. I know he was busy, but he still pulled a chair up beside my bed and calmly spoke to me and explained the plan of care and medications I was receiving. 

“He even recognized that my nose was bleeding due to oxygen that I was receiving and placed a humidifier that helped relieve the soreness in my nostrils. He went above and beyond to show me kindness and warm my heart with encouragement at a time that I felt like I was fighting for my life. His care for me has changed the way that I practice as an RN, and has made me believe in the healing power of therapeutic touch. I will be forever grateful to Danny.”

When asked about his selection as a Top 15 Nurse this year, Alvarez is quick to deflect the praise. 

“I checked with management and learned it was real — I still couldn’t believe it, but it’s such a high honor and so unexpected. I’m fortunate to work with an amazing team. I don’t think you could find a better group of nurses anywhere,” he said.

Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine

A nurse for 15 years, Debbie Barrera is an instructor on faculty in the Department of Pediatrics, and nurse manager for the Departmental Research Resource Office (RRO). In this role, she manages 20-plus clinical study coordinators and four data managers, and in doing so, supports 73 actively enrolling clinical trials at Baylor College of Medicine’s affiliate hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital. 

Like many nurses, she sees her job as her contribution to increasing the quality of life for patients, often beyond the research team and the research facility. Yet, she is quick to repeat what has become the nurses’ mantra: “I’m just doing my job and I love doing it, love the challenge and love coming to work every day.”

“I am fortunate to work with a team of dedicated professionals,” she said, “people who are equally compassionate about the patients they work with, and beyond that, patients in the future who could be helped by the work they are doing.”

One of Barrera’s nominators wrote, “This nurse is humble, and highly skilled in her job, efficient and selfless, and aware in the importance of the work her team performs, day in and day out. Barrera is a support to the science as well as the scientists who explore new paths in medicine. And while she may never see the … patients her team’s efforts benefit in so many ways — her role as a nurse and the traditional goals of nursing are at the core of the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of trials she manages every year.” 

Barrera was recently given the Clinical Research Award, a peer-nominated award to recognize individuals working in clinical research.

“Clinical research is a stressful undertaking,” another nomination stated. “Every study protocol is unique, from the particulars of the study design to the patient population to the multiple different physician principal investigators. I have admired Debbie’s clear determination and desire to help every physician, including myself, to go through all of the steps needed to begin a clinical trial. She does this with a wonderful, positive attitude. Debbie has shown true leadership in this regard, taking on extra roles to prevent delays in starting a trial. 

“As part of the Child Neurology Clinical Research Committee, I have worked very closely with Debbie over the past several years in assessing, organizing, and developing timelines for all proposed clinical trials being developed in the Division of Child Neurology, and I am continually impressed with her skill in assessing the feasibility of every study as well as how to best address the many challenges to moving studies forward in an expeditious manner. Debbie is such a gifted individual in this area.

“Debbie balances the needs for adherence to clinical trial protocols with the human needs of the research subjects, all of whom are children, many of whom are chronically ill, and some of whom have nowhere else to turn to get treatment outside of a clinical trial. She also fills in, often at a moment’s notice, for other nursing coordinators who are unable to complete a study visit, or to help care for a research subject with an adverse event.

“Debbie is deserving of this award based on her selflessness and commitment to teamwork. She is always a nurse first, and always puts her patients and their families first. She is committed to equitable treatment of children and advocates for bringing the latest cutting-edge research to all patients, regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status.”

As another nomination read, “Exceptional care and attention to detail. Debbie is the best!”

Some nurses unknowingly have changed attitudes — even lives — with the way they’ve treated a patient or handled situations. Following is one example about dedicated nurse Andrew Bueno.

“I’ve never been comfortable with nurses and had bad experiences with them, from bad attitudes to … being not taken seriously,” a patient and nominator said. “Andrew made me feel very comfortable and accepted. He took my pain and discomfort seriously and saw me as a person, not just another patient he had to deal with. When I started to cry, he … understood that I was in severe pain from gallstones and helped me breathe. When I was taken to surgery, he was the first one to check on me and was going to be leaving his shift, but made sure to leave me crackers, juice and water. And this was after he had mentioned he had won his fight with COVID and had been in the ICU. After recovering his strength, he had come back to work to help people even though returning meant continuing to battle the same disease that almost killed him. He deserves recognition for the love and compassion he has for his patients.”

Bueno, who grew up in Houston, said he had role models who led him to a career helping others. 

“At first I wanted to help them, to educate them to make better choices for their health,” he said. “So I enrolled in San Jacinto (College) Central and earned my ADN, where I was given a strong foundation.” 

After taking a job at the hospital, “the more I worked and more patients I saw, my goals shifted a bit,” Bueno said. “Now, I’m inspired by nurses and students, wanting to make sure they get the same strong foundation I was given.”

Bueno, who received his RN in 2010, has spent six years of his nursing career in ICU and four years in the emergency room. He is currently at Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital.

“In both of the areas where I’ve worked, the patients I saw are having some of the worst days of their lives,” he said. “It’s my responsibility to deliver the meds and see that the patients receive the treatments their doctors have ordered, but I am also there to be present for them. Some of our patients are on ventilators and may not be able to speak. Others may be in a coma. It’s my job to make sure they are as comfortable as possible, and I am there to do everything possible to achieve that.”

A colleague’s nomination stated:

“Andrew Bueno has been an ICU and ER nurse. He is always the first one in the room to lend a hand and help the team. Andrew serves as an excellent preceptor for new graduate nurses entering the ER for their first job.  

“Andrew also has been a valuable resource throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

For his contributions, Bueno won the leadership award for being night shift preceptor, and the team Daisy award.

“COVID has been a difficult time…. Now we’re seeing many fewer cases, and even with the vaccine, we’re still practicing safety protocols, as nurses and in our personal lives,” he said. 

He also said hospital administration maintained safety and kept staff updated about new discoveries about the coronavirus and new findings passed down from the Centers for Disease Control and the state. 

“We were given the tools as they were discovered or became available,” he said. “We were all in the fight together.”

Shannon Collins, BS, BSN, RN

Shannon Collins, a nurse for 16 years, grew up outside Lafayette, Louisiana. Her father was maintenance superintendent and her mother a CRNA at the local hospital. As a child, Collins spent a lot of time at that hospital, and this exposure to health care professions plus strong role models led to her career in nursing. 

After high school, she attended the University of New Orleans, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology with minor in psychology before going on to earn her RN. At that time, she was one of 12 applicants selected to a new cohort for a one-year, fast-track BSN at UT School of Nursing. 

After completing her BSN, she began her nursing degree at Park Plaza Hospital, but after a year, two physicians spoke with her, urging her to leave the community hospital in order to broaden her experience. 

Both doctors were so impressed with her nursing skills, she arrived at Houston Methodist with high praise for her skills and recommendations. She was hired immediately.

As the hospital began receiving COVID cases in 2020, the workload increased, often causing hospital personnel to be shifted to areas where skills were matched with patient needs. 

“It wasn’t easy, but it was necessary,” Collins said, “and we’re fortunate to receive updates on COVID every day as well as links to articles that provide information.”

While Collins’ assignments are often difficult, she provides the best of care, based on evidence-based practices and hard work, as one nomination from a patient’s family stated: 

“My father was critically ill when he was sent to the cardiac intensive care unit at Houston Methodist. Luckily, Shannon was working there. She provided the utmost in compassion and care in keeping him comfortable over a period of days. She worked tirelessly during that time. She explained the physiological process that was affecting him in a way that helped me understand it very clearly. 

“She put in extra hours and was completely dedicated to making it the best experience anyone could hope for as we grieved the situation. Shannon’s extra measures gave us comfort and peace of mind as our father came to the end of his life. My family was beyond grateful for her compassion.”

Another nomination read: “After my father suffered a sudden stroke, Shannon helped our family to understand what had happened and the prognosis. We came to understand that our father would not recover and had suffered tremendous brain damage. We made the decision, based on our father’s wishes, not to put him on any life-sustaining machines. That was traumatic and difficult for us. 

“Shannon was so kind and empathetic. Shannon monitored his condition and communicated with us every step of the way. She tended to our father’s hygiene and appearance… At every step, we could feel Shannon’s care and compassion, not only for our father, but for us. Shannon gave our family the very best care during one of the most challenging times in our lives. I will forever be grateful for Shannon’s care during that time.”

Although the last 12 months have been difficult for her, she will be marrying her fiance in a small wedding in Aspen, Colorado. Both she and her fiance have lost parents preceding their marriage, and she described how she could not see her mother prior to her death and so was well-equipped to empathize with the families who were separated by the pandemic.

Cassandra Duran, DNP, RN, FNP-BC

Fourteen-year nursing veteran Cassandra Duran, with Baylor College of Medicine, was the first college graduate in her family. 

“I set the bar for my siblings, their children and my own education as well,” she said. “Even as a student, my teachers always told I had lots of potential — and, to be honest, I believed them. I definitely had positive influences in high school and college, but my mom was my biggest motivator.”

As Duran was growing up, her mother — because of chronic health issues — was in and out of the hospital. 

“On the weekends, I would go stay with her, and that gave me the opportunity to watch the nurses who made a difference in my mom’s life, and I was moved by what I saw,” she said.

Growing up in Channelview and graduating from Channelview High School, Duran began her nursing education with a strong foundation from San Jacinto College’s Associate Degree in Nursing program. 

“As soon as I earned my RN, I went to work in critical care at Ben Taub General Hospital,” she said. “My work there made me realize there was so much to learn and how there were so many lives depending on you and the skills you have as a nurse.” 

“I also was fortunate to have had a lot of great mentors,” she said. “They taught me what genuine quality care looked like. And they taught me we usually see patients during the worst possible time in their lives.”

A bedside nurse for seven years, Duran wanted to do more and make more of a difference. The mom of four was led to the Family Nurse Practitioner training program. 

“I wanted to try the clinic environment so I could have a set schedule, and the FNP track offered more of what I was looking for. I wanted to go into work, be challenged, and work more independently, and that caused me to further my education,” she said.

When she was a bedside nurse at Ben Taub, she fell in love with underserved population.

“The clinical setting offered to FNPs allowed me to serve the underserved, to help them. Instead of treating acute situations, I found we could start early in the clinical setting and prevent many of those acute issues. 

“I also found how much I love working with kids,” Duran said, “and there is so much work to be done with kids, from prevention, education and teaching kids and their parents where to find services, to providing the different needed resources. I also found what I was doing, day to day, was having an impact in their lives.In the clinic, I found validation from my patients.” 

Her doctoral project at Baylor focused on adolescent vaccination for HPV (human papillomavirus), a sexually transmitted infection (STI). And one detects her passion for this mission in her voice when talking about it. 

“There is so much we can do to get the word out. We can try to close these gaps,” she said.

The nurse responded to one last question — about COVID.

 “The pandemic didn’t change me as a person. But I saw and realized how COVID humbles you in a split second … giving us pause and then a cause to be appreciative for the simple things. Since we’ve all experienced the pandemic, I think people are less detached, less self-centered. “The pandemic also forced us to isolate, to take care of themselves.”

Jennifer Esparza, BSN, RNC-OB, C-ONQS

Jennifer Esparza is the daughter of a coach and she became an athletic trainer for high school football and basketball. After graduating in 1992, she wasn’t positive about her niche in the career world.

“My godfather/counselor pointed out that all my college credits, thus far, fit perfectly with the associate degree requirements in nursing,” she said. “While I was thinking about taking the path into nursing, I began working as an assistant in a women’s clinic and fell in love with women’s services.”

After completing an ADN at Delmar College, Esparza continued her education, earning a BSN through the Western Governors University online program. She said she chose this school because it provides people who are working with the flexibility of moving through the curriculum at their own pace. 

“Throughout my career,” she said, “I also have had great leaders, great friendships and a great family who have encouraged me to reach higher.” 

Esparza’s heart is in labor and delivery, because she likes the ability to be there for people. 

“A birth involves more than one person,” Esparza said. “At the very least, there should be someone there the patient can trust, someone they know is there to care for them.” 

In her 17 years as a nurse, she said the pandemic has been the most difficult. 

“It challenged our norms,” Esparza said. “To all of us in this area of nursing, family care is an important part of patient care … and during COVID, especially at the beginning, the restrictions on our families were mighty. Limiting people, limiting visiting, not allowing families into the hospital to see the newborns — all of these limitations created complications — especially for grandparents.”

COVID restrictions allowed fathers to be with their wives, but the limit was one person — and whoever was the patient’s “plus one” couldn’t leave. Now that person can leave the hospital, but must be back at a certain time.

Taking precautions and wearing PPE was a priority since teams were delivering one or two COVID-infected moms per day. Some of these moms’ babies came due for delivery and they came to the hospital in respiratory distress. 

“The larger hospitals had even more of these patients with COVID and at times, some of the downtown hospitals were at capacity with the OB-COVID patients,” she said.

As one nomination described her: “Jennifer is caring and compassionate in interactions with patients and coworkers. She had worked to establish the Code Lilac Team at our hospital and worked with members of the Code Lilac Team in the Medical Center to bring this program to Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital. The team consists of a chaplain and other team members who have been trained for emotional debriefing on units that experience stressful events and happenings in the process of patient care and day-to-day stressors. 

“She has helped train team members and organized a call schedule so that when team members experience emotional stress, they can call the Code Lilac Team to schedule a debriefing to help with stress.” 

Even when Code Lilacs are not called, Esparza has created gift baskets and individual bags for units dealing with the stress of caring for COVID-19 patients. 

“Jenn is always thinking of the needs of her patients and coworkers. We are blessed to have her as a member of our team,” a nominator stated.

Maureen Lall, Ph.D., APRN, FNP-BC, COHN-S, SCRN

Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital

In her 30 years as a nurse, Maureen Lall is no stranger to winning awards, but her selection as one of the Top 15 Nurses has taken on another meaning.

“It is a prestigious recognition and I have to thank many people for getting me here,” she said, “but after this past year, it is a tremendous honor and will accept this recognition on behalf of the great teams I work with.” 

The seeds for Lall’s career were planted in her childhood in Philadelphia, and those seeds were nurtured when she served as a Candy Striper in high school.

“My parents are immigrants from Ireland. Neither had the opportunity for a formal education, but became lifelong learners. From the beginning of their lives in the U.S., they wanted to give back to the country that welcomed them, so they started by volunteering at the local fire and emergency service. Now there are several nurses, fire fighters and teachers in the family … and a niece will be graduating nursing school this month.”

From earning her BSN in Philadelphia to a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania to a Ph.D. in nursing science at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Lall said completing her Ph.D. was a life’s ambition.

“The Ph.D. was necessary so I could help establish the scientific base in nursing research. It (research) is how you build the knowledge base for nursing, not just doing things because intuition makes it feel right,” she said. 

On the horizon, she sees a growing number of areas that need study, just as preventing skin breakdown in hospitals and nursing homes, keeping people safe at home, the growing reach of telemedicine and allowing more patients to remain at home with the help of technology.

“The overarching need is that of addressing and removing health care disparities and the social context of how patients live…,” she said.

Lall, married to a physician, believes more nurses will enter administration, advocacy, education, and may fill all roles in a day. It’s a reminder that when nurses were trained in hospitals in the early 1900s, graduates went out into the community to provide diverse health care services.

A Peace Corps volunteer in South America, Lall recalled going door to door with vaccines to get health care into communities. Lall said it’s an opportunity for those who want to serve.

“Supporting nurses in the profession, making sure they have the resources they need and continuing research for them to feel confident in their practices are some of the greatest challenges in nursing today. All outcomes are team-based. It’s a challenge to be a nurse,” Lall said.

She added that knowledge gleaned from the pandemic is invaluable.

“For example, we learned the impact of families on health care outcomes. Now, families are a huge factor for positive outcomes. From this, we’ll have improvements in family-centered health care. We learned about mental health in challenging times and professions. We know, for example, that (certain) nurses are more resilient. Some of the less resilient drop out. We saw a lot of innovating during pandemic, and many have become new processes. 

“The pandemic increased my appreciation of nursing care, and as a result … we have been made better. We know the importance of everyone coming together,” she said. 

Giselle Long, RN, one of the Houston Chronicle’s Top 15 Nurses, is the first nurse chosen from Jennie Sealy Hospital in Galveston. She was selected based on a nomination submitted by the family of a COVID-19 patient who was hospitalized December 2020, and then moved into the intensive care unit where Long was assigned.

The patient then was placed on a ventilator in ICU and was treated for approximately six weeks. The nomination stated: 

“My sister was hospitalized on Dec. 24, 2020 for COVID-19. She went to ICU on Dec. 26, was heavily sedated and put on a ventilator. Giselle was one of many of her nurses. Like all other hospitals, they did not allow visitors for COVID-19 patients. Our family was paralyzed with fear of losing my sister. I kept a journal and called the hospital four to six times a day/night. I learned all the nurses’ names and the sounds of their voice when I called for updates. They were all very professional and usually took the time to give as much information about my sister’s condition as possible. She eventually had to have a tracheotomy, a feeding tube and stayed in ICU until Feb. 9.

“Giselle was the first nurse to offer FaceTime calls for my family, and it helped us all tremendously. She would bathe her, applying lotion all over her legs, hands, arms and body. She brushed out her long hair and braided it. She was our angel and our hero. 

“I found out later, through another nurse, that Giselle lost her mother to COVID-19 less than a month before caring for my sister. She knew exactly what we were feeling and going through as a family, because she had experienced the pain herself.

“Giselle is compassionate, kind and absolutely loves her job. She told me once that she loved her job so much she wished she could do it 24/7.

“My sister survived COVID-19 and is currently in a rehab hospital after three months of recovery. Our family would greatly appreciate your consideration of Giselle for this award.”

Opening its doors in 2016, Jennie Sealy Hospital houses a number of highly specialized units and reinforces the commitment of UTMB Health to provide the best possible care for patients and the best environment for physicians and nurses to care for patients. It’s also a setting that nurtures and enriches the learning experience for all UTMB students.

Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital

Surrounded by nurses in her family home in Karachi, Pakistan, Khairunnisa “Nisa” Madhani seemed predestined to become a nurse. 

“My sister and cousin were nurses, and when my sister came home from work, she would discuss cases, which inspired and motivated me,” she said, “and I have vivid memories of a nurse — when I was a child — taking the time to divert my attention as she gave me an injection.”

Completing her training in 1992 at American Sentinel University and receiving her credentials as RN and BSN, Madhani has been a nurse for 29 years. She has been recognized as Nurse of the Week at Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital, and patient surveys bring high praise for her quality of care.

After coming to the U.S. 25 years ago, Madhani became a pediatric nurse. She was in her early 20s. 

“A child diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome was abandoned by the parents,” she said. “Because I was one of the nurses assigned to take care of the child, I became very attached. When my shift ended, I spent time with this little patient. I saw the patient as being was part of my family. When the patient passed away, it was like I had lost my own child. A patient at our hospital in IMU for two years, the child was on a ventilator, but I loved that patient. I realized the most difficult part of being a nurse was seeing a patient die.”

“In the beginning of COVID, one of my jobs was screening patients,” Madhani said. “It became surreal. A patient would be eating lunch or walking the hall and the next thing we knew, they had coded and died.” 

“Once a patient was brought to the emergency department, that usually was the last time they saw their family. I cannot describe how difficult that was for everyone,” she said. “In my own case, my brother-in-law contracted COVID-19 back home and could only speak to us on FaceTime. He was dying, there was nothing I could do and I was awash with feelings of helplessness.

“I feel the same about some of the patients in wheelchairs I work with in day surgery. They want to do everything for themselves, even though I am there, wanting to help them. I don’t want to rob them of their independence, but I’m there to make their lives safer and easier, just as I would do for a member of my own family.”

Madhani said the best part of her job as a nurse is seeing patients happy and satisfied, often smiling and saying “thank you.”

Another nomination about her reads: “Her humor makes her patients feel comfortable, and whenever she is working with ECG leads, after removing the leads, she always tells them they are getting ‘free waxing,’ or when she is taking her patients in wheelchairs to the parking lot, she always tells them that their chariot awaits and their limo is here.”

Her win for Top 15 really left her in shock.

“I was not expecting it and I am so blessed. When they send surveys and I get good comments, it is so gratifying. It makes a big difference because it’s not easy to take care of everyone, but they come here for help and we try our best,” she said. 

Carolyn Phillips, RN, BSN, Ph.D.

UTMB School of Nursing Ph.D. Program 

Growing up on her family’s farm in Illinois, Carolyn Phillips’ parents served as role models when it came to valuing education for their three daughters. Somehow Phillips has always known she wanted to be a nurse, perhaps from the humanity she learned from her mother and father or possibly from taking part in the care of injured or sick animals on the farm.

After high school, she embarked on her nursing career, her first stop at Decatur (Illinois) Macon County Hospital School of Nursing. Two years later, she had earned her Bachelor of Science from Millikin University. She went on to earn her MSN at Wayne State University in Detroit, and her Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh. 

For the past two decades, Phillips has been a member of the doctoral nursing faculty at UTMB, teaching core doctoral nursing courses in qualitative research methods and data management; concepts and theories in nursing; research methods; and critical analysis of nursing research.

Phillips has been known to spend Saturdays in her office guiding out-of-town doctoral students through data analysis and face-to-face interviewing skills, and mentoring students in the art and science of manuscript writing for publication. 

As some of her students have stated, “Dr. Phillips’ contributions as an exceptional teacher and mentor to doctoral students, the scientific community, and society are immeasurable. She is dedicated to excellence in nursing scholarship and research. She not only sets the bar high for her students during candidacy, but she supports them in achieving their goals of procuring relevant and trustworthy studies that can potentially impact health and health careUnder Dr. Philips’ guidance, students’ research findings have the potential to impact national policy, nursing practice, and education, healthcare, and society. Educators like her are becoming increasingly rare.”

At the national level, Phillips has served as co-investigator of the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, a project that supports the development of innovations that improve educational outcomes. 

At the community level, she has served as a planning board member of the Congregational Health Nursing Training Project of the Institute of Religion in the Texas Medical Center. 

At the university level, as a faculty member of the graduate school of biomedical sciences as well as the school of nursing, Phillips has chaired task forces and serves on numerous committees. 

Within the school of nursing, she is recognized as a leader and advocate for quality doctoral nursing education.

Her passion, commitment and dedication have not gone unrecognized. 

The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences selected her as a recipient of its Excellence in Ph.D. Teaching Award, Outstanding Teacher Award, and Distinguished Teaching Award in Nursing.

The School of Nursing honored her with the Dibrell Family Professorship in Medical Education. As a researcher, she has published extensively.

As one of her nominations states, “Myself included, several of us already have our Ph.D., but during our doctoral studies during this very difficult time, Dr. Phillips demonstrated humor, care, and kindness by asking about our well-being, mental health … and ensuring we had every appropriate resource to help us through the pandemic while completing our dissertations.” 

Kavitha Rajan, MSN, RN, TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital

Kavitha Rajan’s father grew up in a small village and was from a lower caste in India’s caste system. Therefore, he encountered barriers to what he wanted most: an education.

“The caste pushed him back, but he was a bright student and his teachers recognized this and encouraged him. After he obtained the schooling available … he continued to emphasize education and learning whenever possible, but especially to his family. When he married my mother, he sent her to nursing school, where she became a midwife in their little village of Vellore. As a teen, I went with Mom when she delivered babies. With her instruction, I changed dressings for her patients, and from both my parents I learned to be humble, kind and respect others. 

“We went to convent school. After my graduation, my dad went to work, applying to all professional courses — and I was accepted by several colleges, but they were too far from home. However, there was an excellent Christian medical college and hospital … not far from our home. 

“My journey from there to now was a great experience, and because my folks believed a parent’s job is to guide children.” 

Before getting a job in the United States, Rajan was married in 2004.

Taking a job in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2005, Rajan said the change in culture and her inability to understand the dialect of the area tempted her to go back to India, but with the help of her husband, she kept working, learned to drive a car, shop in an American supermarket, kept trying and became accustomed to the Wisconsin accent.

After the 22-year nurse’s daughter was born, her parents traveled to Milwaukee for a two-month visit. 

“It was winter — and snowing. My father asked me to use my computer to find ‘somewhere warmer than Milwaukee.’ What came up was Houston … and the rest, as they say, is history. Memorial Hermann offered me a job when I applied, and I have been here ever since,” she said.

 One nomination stated: “A team that works together succeeds together. Kavitha Rajan is the perfect role model for that to happen. She demonstrates competence appropriate to her role and responsibilities, embraces true collaboration and then invests in its development to ensure a sustained culture of collaboration. 

“Kavitha mentors and serves as a role model for both clinical and non-clinical staff to collaborate very well and achieve high scores in customer satisfaction. Her team pays extra attention, spends quality time with patients who are anxious by spending time holding their hand, engage in active listening, and shares with the team if a patient need should be addressed. That caring touch means a lot in the process of healing.”

When asked about the Chronicle’s Top 15 honor, she is humble. 

“Honestly, I feel so happy. I look at my journey and the love I have for nursing. Even with the cultural challenges we’ve overcome, it’s been worth it,” she said. 

Patricia Silva, RN, MS, CNE-BC

Kelsey-Seybold Clinic — Berthelsen Main Campus 

A native Houstonian and a graduate of the nursing program at the University of St. Thomas, Patricia Silvia was licensed in 1982, has been a nurse for 39 years and is currently with Kelsey-Seybold Clinic — Berthelsen Main Campus. 

“When I was selecting a career path, I had always seen nurses as competent advocates for their patients and courageous. I wanted a career so I could be like the health care professionals I admired,” Silva said. 

“I love being a nurse. It is a job of much responsibility but also a lot of privilege. Nurses not only bring science, but also the art of making the patient feel better. Yes, it’s a difficult job, but it is an amazing job.” 

“Patricia is well-respected among her nursing colleagues, providers, directors, and staff. She has proven to be a leader and clinical champion. Patricia has focused her time at Kelsey-Seybold on developing her staff to provide the highest quality of care to patients — care that not only is seen face to face, but also transcends through all patient and staff interaction.”

“My role changed a lot during COVID,” Silva said. “In February and March, we established an Incident Command Center to prepare and plan for impact of COVID on our patient population. We had no idea how many patients would need care and what level of care they would need, but we needed a starting point.”

As a coworker wrote, “Patricia has gone above and beyond. She was called on to develop a drive-through swabbing process for Kelsey-Seybold patients, and she immediately accepted the challenge even though she was unfamiliar with the concept. 

“She then researched and studied various different articles, organizations, and videos to learn as much as she could quickly, to become familiar with this new theory of swabbing on the go. 

“Due to increasing demand, the Swab & Go program quickly grew beyond main campus to nine additional clinic locations. Again, Patty stepped up and personally led the clinical training across the organization….” 

“Our mass swabbing sites, as an organization, performed about 1,000 COVID tests per day,” Silva said, “and at the same time, make sure people were safe … and in the fall (2020) we also offered tests for flu and strep.”

“The testing continued, non-stop, except for the week-long storm in February, where we had horrible weather, but by Friday night, we were swabbing again, which was important for symptomatic patients, and this testing was really necessary so doctors could treat the COVID-positive patients,” Silva said.

“She’s a good nurse — with strong decision skills, attentive skills, a competent nurse leader, adaptable, and has great stamina,” a coworker wrote. “Patty is a good problem-solver and we rely on her knowledge and skills.”

Karen Wondra, BSN, RN, CVRN

Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital

Karen Wondra said she has never understood a half-empty glass. Perhaps that’s because it appears her 38-year career path as an RN has been guided well. 

“When I was 12, I went to have a routine camp physical,” she said. “The doctor discovered I had a malfunctioning heart valve, so shortly thereafter, I underwent open-heart surgery at Brackenridge Hospital in Austin. 

“My family lived in Luling, and the commute was too difficult, so I spent quite a bit of my time in the hospital without my family, but one of the night nurses at Brack made me feel like I had a mother, especially when I was lonely…. After that experience, I never wanted to be anything else but a nurse.”

After earning her credentials as an LVN at Victoria College in Cuero, Wondra went to San Jacinto College for training as an RN and then, while she was employed as an RN, she enrolled in the RN to BSN at The University of Texas at Arlington. 

“When the pandemic hit,” she said, “I was working in the cardiac cath lab, where we were only seeing emergency patients who had experienced a heart attack, so when they shifted staffing to busier areas, I was sent to ICU. That experience made me a more confident communicator.”

Because of limiting visitors, after a patient was admitted through the emergency room, the family would sit in their cars. 

The bridge between the patient and their family members was the waiting room, where staff would develop contacts and bring information about the patient’s condition or progress for the family.

“With a little ingenuity and some extra effort, we managed to come through it,” Wondra said.

During the pandemic, the cardiac cath lab staff lost a member, so Wondra volunteered to fill in, often working back-to-back shifts. This duty of 24/7 cath lab call lasted six months and since her skills and presence were essential, the hospital arranged for her to stay at a hotel.

As one nomination read, “Karen comes in on her off time to assist the hospital. Karen is always in a good mood and can make you laugh no matter how many hours or days she has worked. There is no better qualified nurse to receive this award.”

Another nomination stated, “Karen has stepped up at HMCL as the cath lab nurse. She has been the only nurse in that department for months. She takes call 24-7 on top of working her scheduled days. She is always in a good mood and positive toward the patients and staff. I cannot think of a better nurse to nominate than her. She rocks!”

Wondra takes pride in the lab where she works as well as the team she works with, all of whom have been at Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital for 10 years or more. 

During her six months of being on call, Wondra said the cath lab staff “took care of me. I was sent home to rest so we were always doing the best for every patient and focused on getting the job done. It’s all about being prepared, not letting it psych you out. My supervision in the lab and the whole team helped me. Even though I was the only RN, my team — a mighty force — was behind me.” 

Veteran contributor and originator of "Grand Adventure," a grandparenting column found monthly in "Senior Living," Alice Adams is an activist, freelance writer and co-author of numerous books on management strategies and other topics. A native Texan, she enjoys reading, football season, travel, movies, jazz and their six grandchildren with husband Ron.