CMC Names Employees of the Year

2/12/2024

Carlsbad Medical Center recently presented several awards at its annual Employee Celebration, held January 19th. In addition to service awards, Employees and Directors of the Year were recognized. These awards are the highest honors bestowed on hospital employees each year.

“We have an incredible staff at Carlsbad Medical Center,” says Carlsbad Medical Center CEO Nick Arledge. “It’s a pleasure to recognize our employees for their dedication to our patients and the community, and to providing outstanding care.”

Employees are chosen for the awards by the CMC leadership team, with feedback from their peers, based on their commitment to patient care, their professionalism, and their contributions on the job.

Smith is the Surgical Services Coordinator and began working at CMC as a scrub tech when he was 20 years old, with no prior surgical experience. He trained on the job and showed an incredible affinity for the position. Now Smith oversees all of our scrub techs and handles all the ordering for the OR. He is known to be very efficient, self-motivated and reliable. Smith’s supervisor, Melissa Fisher, said, “Zach always makes a person feel like they matter. He actually listens to what you have to say and goes out of his way to make sure you understand.” His co-workers say he is an amazing teacher and that really cares about making sure things are done correctly, which is critical to providing safe, quality care for the patients at CMC.

Armendariz has been part of the Carlsbad Medical Center family since 1998. He began as a young Emergency Department Registrar and proceeded to move up to Trauma Registrar, ED/Trauma Manager, Manager of Critical Care and Specialty Services, and now currently serves as the Director of Emergency Medical Services. He was previously named Clinical Director of the Year in 2013. His co-workers, as well as community residents know Kris as a “go-to” person at CMC and know that he is able to find answers to any questions they may have. The relationships he has built with the law enforcement community have greatly strengthened our area’s healthcare network, and each year Armendariz organizes CMC’s annual Law Enforcement & EMS Appreciation event to honor and thank first responders. He also assists with many other hospital events, such as employee appreciation activities, health fairs, and fundraising for the United Way and Brittany’s Hope.

Jacquez joined the CMC team in 2021 as the Director of Human Resources. The changes she has implemented have strengthened not only her department, but the entire hospital. Known as a recruiting rock star, Jacquez has attended numerous job fairs and hiring events, both locally and out of town, helping to recruit many new nurses and other clinical positions. This focus on quality employee recruitment has helped CMC reduce contract labor expense and has improved employee turnover, all which help create a better environment for our staff to work and for patients to receive care. In addition to her outstanding leadership abilities, she is known to go above and beyond to make our staff feel appreciated, helping with many employee engagement activities and events. She also participates alongside coworkers in community service projects such as United Way fundraising and Food Distributions, the Jars of Love Peanut Butter Drive, our the annual EMS & Law Enforcement Appreciation event.

Kelsey Hernandez, RN, was named CMC’s Nursing Excellence Award winner for 2023. Hernandez joined the ICU in June 2021, and since that time she has earned a reputation amongst her coworkers, physicians, and her patients as one of the top nurses at CMC. She is regularly recognized by patients and families as a nurse who is kind, caring, compassionate, and always attentive to the needs of her patients. Mark Staton, Chief Nursing Officer at CMC, said, "We are so fortunate to have Kelsey caring for our patients. I know every time she is on shift in our ICU the patients are getting the best possible care. Kelsey is a big part of the hospital fulfilling our mission to serve the community of Carlsbad with exceptional healthcare."

Terry Dean was presented with the first-ever “Lloyd Walker Award for Kindness,” in loving memory of longtime CMC employee Lloyd Walker, who passed away in November 2023. Walker’s family was in attendance at the event to present the award. Dean is a Physical Therapy Tech who has worked at CMC for 42 years, and was honored as the 2022 Employee of the Year. Her co-workers say she has a way of making every person feel like they are special, always feels empathy towards her patients, and is always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone, while delivering excellent care with the utmost compassion.

The hospital’s affiliated medical group, Pecos Valley Physician Group, also presented awards, naming Melissa Holly and Edgar Felix their Employees of the Year, and Dawn Ingram the Manager of the Year.

Additionally, service awards were recently presented to both CMC and Pecos Valley Physician Group employees at CMC’s annual awards ceremony.

Several employees were recognized for their long-time dedication. Rebecca Ybaben, physical therapy registrar, was honored for an outstanding 35 years of service. Another PT Registrar, Deanna Burdine, was honored for 30 years of service along with Diane Willis, RN, surgical services.

Gladys Darling and Faye Troublefield were recognized for 25 years of service. Receiving 20 year pins were Kimberly Dominguez, Brandie Lane, Beth McCormick, Monique Navarrette, Ellen Pennypacker and Nancy Rios.

Recognized for 15 years of service were Amanda Chavez, Rebecca Doporto, Kristine Goodman, Susanna Najera, Shawn Orgain, Renee Rea and Melissa Suggs.

Receiving 10 year pins were Angela Baca, Rossell Bana, Ide Larez, Maria Ruiz and Claude Shannon.

Recognized for five years of service were Audrie Alvarado Carrasco, Kristina Blair, Natalie Bogan, Lori Brimhall, Angela Calderon, Andrew Doty, Emily Echavarria, Ricardo Gonzales, Anthony Landreth, Clarissa Methola, Joselyn Orona, Dawn Trujillo, Mara Walker and Kyleigh Yerby.

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