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Salute to Nursing... Salute to Nursing... Salute to Nursing... Salute to Nursing... Salute to

ST. JOHN’S NURSING CENTER VITAS® HEALTHCARE - BROWARD COUNTY

Margalie Fontus and Daisy Valdes Figueroa, RN
Guerda Valere
Daisy Valdes Figueroa, RN, has dedicated 16 years of her 28-
“Thank you Margalie Fontus, year nursing career to hospice nursing. A VITAS home care
Assistant Director of Nursing, nurse since 2013, the Puerto Rico native goes beyond tradition-
and Guerda Valere, Director of al healthcare duties to connect with her patients.
Nursing, for their tireless efforts “It fulfills me to help my patients and their families through
in keeping the appropriate safety the difficult times they are facing,” she says. “I laugh with them
measures in place for staff and as well as cry with them, and, I give them as much support as
residents at St. John’s Nursing I can. I help them tidy up their homes and go to the grocery
Center!” Rosemarie Bailey, store.” Daisy also has extended her love of crocheting with the
BHSA, MBA, NHA, Executive patients she cares care. On her free time, she has taught some
Director/ Administrator, St. of her patients how to crochet, “and they love it.”
John’s Nursing Center
VITAS® HEALTHCARE - TREASURE COAST

Shawn Brown, RN

TENET FLORIDA PHYSICIAN SERVICES Shawn Brown knew early in life that she wanted to work in
the medical field, thanks to the examples set by her mother and
grandmother, both of whom were certified nursing assistants.
Daniel V. Mock, APRN, AGACNP-BC She worked 11 years as a licensed practical nurse and in a
hospice inpatient unit before joining VITAS as a case manager.
Daniel Mock sees nursing as a guide, a light in the darkness A registered nurse for four years, she now is a home care team
for people with health needs. Focusing on patient-centered care manager for hospice care in St. Lucie and Martin counties.
as an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN), Daniel has “The support and accommodations I have received from
the ability to diagnose and treat disease. As an APRN, Daniel VITAS are like no other I have experienced before,” she says,
specializes in the cardiothoracic surgery field caring for the describing a hospice career as a “calling.” “I love to love on my
patient preoperatively and postoperatively. Daniel is a very pos- patients and reassure them that they are not alone.” That
itive person who tries to take the best out of every possible sce- includes singing to her patients when they ask, and if she does-
nario. Looking back, he says one of his best decisions ever was n’t know the lyrics of a song they request, she’ll find the lyrics and learn it. “If it soothes
to become a nurse. He has been a nurse since 2010 and attended and makes my patients happy, I will learn any song even if I wasn’t born during that era.”
Barry University. Daniel completed a Master of Science in
Nursing in 2016. During his nursing career, Daniel has worked in diverse specialties
including medical telemetry, medical surgical, general surgery, cardiothoracic surgery and
cardiovascular surgery with chronic and acutely ill patients. Nursing has been evolving TENET FLORIDA CARDIOVASCULAR CARE
since the very beginning, Daniel says, adding that it is a career in constant movement
because every day we have new discoveries or research to improve people’s lives. Daniel
is adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner-board certified (AGACNP-BC). This Ksenia Sokol, APRN
AGACNP-BC credential Daniel earned is certified by the Accreditation Board for
Specialty Nursing Certification (ANCC) for completing the Consensus Model for APRN
Regulation: Licensure, Accreditation, Certification and Education. Ksenia Sokol always knew she would take a path to becoming
a health care provider touching people’s lives while contributing
to their wellbeing, healing and recovery. Ksenia has experienced
numerous rewarding moments and highlights as a nurse practi-
tioner, among them the realization that while she was educating
Lonna Sare, ARNP, MSN, BSN, RN and guiding her patients she was also continuously learning
from them, helping her become better in her everyday life.
Lonna Sare knew she wanted to become a nurse after volun- During her nursing career, Ksenia has worked in different
teering as a student at a local hospital in Indiana and followed departments including neuro stepdown, medical psychiatry, cath
in the footsteps of her grandmother who was a nurse providing lab and interventional radiology units. Being exposed to various
care for her community. She enjoys being part of the moments niches in nursing has allowed Ksenia to broaden her perspective on her profession and
in other people’s lives when her patients put their faith and trust gain greater insight on moving forward in her career. She finished the master’s degree pro-
in her hands, calling this a great honor which has brought such gram for Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) specializing in family medicine at
love to her life. For the past 20 years, Lonna has been a cardi- Nova Southeastern University in 2014. Ksenia gravitated to the field of cardiology, struc-
ology nurse and nurse practitioner. Since 2015, she’s worked at tural and interventional cardiology and in 2018 joined Tenet Florida Cardiovascular Care
the Jupiter practice of cardiologists Dr. Craig Vogel, Dr. Rahul (TFCC) cardiologists Dr. Ida Mazza and Dr. Thanh Duong-Wagner, and structural heart
Aggarwal and Dr. James Gardner, Jr. Lonna specializes in chron- disease and interventional cardiologist Dr. Saurabh Sanon. Ksenia’s future plans include
ic care issues such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia and congestive heart failure, in addi- pursuing a doctoral degree in nursing to further her passion for teaching, expand her role
tion to cardiac testing which includes nuclear and stress echo testing on a daily basis. She and join academia while advising, guiding and helping others to succeed by sharing her
is certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as an adult nurse prac- professional knowledge and clinical expertise.
titioner (ANP). For her education and training, Lonna received her Bachelor of Science in
Nursing from Indiana University. Lonna returned to college and obtained her Master of
Science in Nursing and NP (nurse practitioner) from Indiana University Purdue
University (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, IN.
FLORIDA MEDICAL CENTER

Leo Restrepo, RN, BSN

•••••••••••••••••••••••• the emergency room. He received his Bachelor’s degree in
Leo Restrepo is a nurse manager at Florida Medical Center in
Visit us online at Nursing from Florida International University. His duties in the
emergency room are establishing rapport with patients, making
sure they are getting the best care, as well as overseeing the oper-
www.southfloridahospitalnews.com ations of the entire emergency room. He also maintains nursing
staff by recruiting, selecting, orienting and training nurses. He
works with all other departments and encourages everyone to
work as a team for the same goal. Leo enjoys going to the
movies and spending time with his family.

34 May 2020 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News