Long-Time ICU Nurse Honored with DAISY Award

SALINAS, Calif. — A nurse whose 25-year career at Salinas Valley Health has been defined by compassion, consistency and clinical excellence is being recognized with one of the profession’s highest honors, the DAISY Award for nursing excellence.

While this is a first DAISY Award for Luzviminda “Minda” Ramos, Staff Nurse II in the Intensive Care Unit/Critical Care Unit, Ramos has been nominated on five previous occasions.

Her repeated nominations reflect a career-long commitment to compassionate care in one of the most demanding clinical environments. Past nominations have described Ramos as someone whose “kindness was beautiful,” a “wonderful, compassionate nurse,” and a caregiver who “deserves recognition for her dedication, kindness and effort.”

In the nomination that led to the DAISY Award, a patient’s family member credited Ramos with making a meaningful difference in her mother’s care and healing.

“Nurse Minda was so kind and caring when my mom was admitted to the ICU after her stroke,” wrote the patient’s family. “She anticipated my mom’s needs and made her feel safe and cared for. I know she helped my mom recover and I will be forever grateful. When my mom was transferred out of the ICU, she talked all day about how much she missed Minda. This was my mother’s fifth hospitalization in two months, and while there were many kind nurses, Minda was special.”

Leaders at Salinas Valley Health say Ramos’ ability to combine clinical expertise with empathy has made her a trusted presence for patients and families navigating complex and often life-threatening conditions.

Other DAISY Award nominees this period include Javier Cortez, BSN, RN, Staff Nurse II, Med Surg; Angela Covarrubias, RN, Staff Nurse II, Emergency; Erin Deeny, RN, PCCN, Staff Nurse II, Pediatrics; James Edwards, RN, Staff Nurse II, Emergency; Laurie Freed, BSN, RN, CCRN-CSC, Staff Nurse III, ICU; Lisa Garcia, MSN, RN, CNS, Staff Nurse III, Pediatrics; Cheryl Hadland, RN, Staff Nurse II, Oncology; Hannah Leff, BSN, RN, Staff Nurse II, Observation Care Unit; Monica Loza-Gonzalez, RN, Staff Nurse II, Telemetry/5-T; Lindsey Macbeth-Hymes, RN, Staff Nurse II, Pediatrics; Mylene Peralta, BSN, RN, Staff Nurse II, Telemetry/5-T; Hugh Sandys, BSN, RN, Staff Nurse II, Radiology RNs; Danielle Schuler, BSN, RN, C-EFM, Staff Nurse III, Labor & Delivery; Daniel Vann-Victorino, BSN, RN, Staff Nurse II, Emergency; Kelly Yoshimura, RN, Staff Nurse II, Emergency; and Helen Young, RN, Staff Nurse I, Pediatrics.

The DAISY Award is an international program that recognizes nurses for extraordinary clinical skill and compassionate care. Salinas Valley Health also created a monthly STAR Award program, which recognizes all employees who demonstrate the organization’s core values of Support, Teamwork, Accountability and Respect.

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Media Contact: Karina Rusk
831-759-1843