May 2026 Honoree
Lourna Luna, RN
When I look up the word overachiever, the definition brings up words such as self-starter, go-getter, high-flier, and extremely hard-working. This year’s nurse recipient for the DAISY Award illustrates all of this in her everyday work. Lourna truly models the definition of what our core values are for St. Joseph Health.
Compassion: a deep awareness of another person’s suffering combined with a strong desire to alleviate it. We all know that working nights takes a special kind of person to complete and work these difficult hours. Lourna will make all the hospital staff her special “Cafecito” espresso shots for when they need a pick-me-up.
Inclusion: the act of creating environments - social, educational, or professional - where all individuals, regardless of background or ability, are welcomed, respected, and supported to participate fully. Lourna makes sure that everyone always feels included and a part of the team no matter their nursing background or facility that they may come from. This also includes her patients, as she treats everyone as equals to ensure that they get the best care possible.
Integrity: the quality of being honest, ethical, and having strong moral principles, described often as doing the right thing when no one is looking. An example of this was when we were short-staffed on our Medical Unit; she reached out and arranged adequate staffing even though she was not on shift (she was out on PTO) and the staffing would not affect her. She knew how much her co-workers needed the help and went the extra mile to make their shift a little bit easier.
Excellence: the state of being exceptionally good, possessing superior quality, or achieving extreme merit. One shift, when we had an IT failure and could not access our patients' MARs, she worked through the issue and arranged for someone to commute them over to the hospital so we could safely administer our patients their daily medications.
Collaboration: the act of working together with people or organizations to achieve a common goal, share knowledge, or produce something jointly. An example of this value that shows how selfless Lourna is, as well as a team player, was when our ED conducted a mock pediatric drill at change of shift. She was already off shift and driving home, but had her Pulsara notification on, and when the notification came through and she saw the complaint, she immediately turned around and came back to the hospital to assist with the code. Even after arriving to find that it was a drill, she still stayed to participate with her team for the educational opportunity at hand.
We honor and recognize Lourna Luna as a 2026 DAISY Award recipient.
Compassion: a deep awareness of another person’s suffering combined with a strong desire to alleviate it. We all know that working nights takes a special kind of person to complete and work these difficult hours. Lourna will make all the hospital staff her special “Cafecito” espresso shots for when they need a pick-me-up.
Inclusion: the act of creating environments - social, educational, or professional - where all individuals, regardless of background or ability, are welcomed, respected, and supported to participate fully. Lourna makes sure that everyone always feels included and a part of the team no matter their nursing background or facility that they may come from. This also includes her patients, as she treats everyone as equals to ensure that they get the best care possible.
Integrity: the quality of being honest, ethical, and having strong moral principles, described often as doing the right thing when no one is looking. An example of this was when we were short-staffed on our Medical Unit; she reached out and arranged adequate staffing even though she was not on shift (she was out on PTO) and the staffing would not affect her. She knew how much her co-workers needed the help and went the extra mile to make their shift a little bit easier.
Excellence: the state of being exceptionally good, possessing superior quality, or achieving extreme merit. One shift, when we had an IT failure and could not access our patients' MARs, she worked through the issue and arranged for someone to commute them over to the hospital so we could safely administer our patients their daily medications.
Collaboration: the act of working together with people or organizations to achieve a common goal, share knowledge, or produce something jointly. An example of this value that shows how selfless Lourna is, as well as a team player, was when our ED conducted a mock pediatric drill at change of shift. She was already off shift and driving home, but had her Pulsara notification on, and when the notification came through and she saw the complaint, she immediately turned around and came back to the hospital to assist with the code. Even after arriving to find that it was a drill, she still stayed to participate with her team for the educational opportunity at hand.
We honor and recognize Lourna Luna as a 2026 DAISY Award recipient.
Thank you, Lourna, for your exceptional compassion, advocacy, and dedication to your patients. You truly make a difference.
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