Brenda Jerez-Aguilar Named Notable Nurse

On any given day, Brenda Jerez-Aguilar sees a number of patients with a range of general health issues and traumas in the Emergency Department of the Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC), from patients suffering from abdominal pain, to cuts and bruises, to heart attacks and more serious traumas including gunshot and stabbing wounds. It is for her meticulous yet gentle care and her dedication to the patients and families she sees during these busy hours that Jerez-Aguilar was recently named by Senator Bill Emmerson (R-Redlands) and Assemblymember Mike Morrell (R-Rancho Cucamonga) as a Notable Nurse. Starting her shift at 7 p.m.—during peak hours—Jerez-Aguilar, who has worked at LLUMC for nine years and is a 12-year resident of Riverside, there are already many patients to see. “We try to see as many people as fast as we can without compromising the quality of care they deserve,” she said. “My shift varies from day to day; sometimes I am in the trauma rooms, triage, or [treating patients with] wide-ranging diseases in the adult and pediatric populations.” Jerez-Aguilar shared that since the economy declined, an additional challenge that many ER doctors and nurses face includes larger numbers of patients to treat. “We have more people in the Emergency Department being seen for primary care issues,” she said. Emergency Rooms do not decline care to anyone, no matter their health issue or financial state. “Some people are struggling with trying to manage their diseases without having medical insurance and may run out of their prescription, or they might come in with more advanced issues because they cannot get preventative care,” said Jerez-Aguilar. “That has affected many ERs with higher demands and sicker patients.” In her personal life, she Jerez-Aguilar said she juggles balancing her roles as a mother, wife and daughter alongside her career and her academic life, as she pursues a master’s degree as a Nurse Practitioner. With such a packed schedule, “time management is very important to me,” she said. Despite the challenges she faces, Jerez-Aguilar maintains that she finds her career fulfilling as it allows her to care for others in need. Jerez-Aguilar said she seriously considered a career in nursing at the young age of nine. At the age of 5, she would often visit her grandmother’s ill neighbor, placing alcohol on the woman’s forehead to heal her ailments. Her grandmother told her she had “healing hands,” said Jerez-Aguilar, who says her grandmother inspired her. “I feel like nursing has always been my passion. I love the feeling of helping someone feel better and comforting them. This is the way I make a difference in the world.” The most rewarding part of her career, she says, is “the patients’ and families’ smiles and sincere gratitude” following her care. “Normally I see [the patients and their families] during a crisis, either due to an unexpected accident or a medical event, so it is very rewarding to be able to make a difference at that moment in their life.” She provides the type of care she says she would “like her loved ones to be treated.” It often helps her to care for the patients she would care for her own family members, she added. Of her recognition as a Notable Nurse, Jerez-Aguilar said she feels honored, but she remains humble. “I work with so many amazing nurses every day and I know many of them deserve similar recognition, but I am very grateful to Senator Bill Emmerson and Judith Storfjell, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer of Loma Linda University Medical Center, for choosing me.” In the past, Jerez-Aguilar has also received the Good Samaritan Award from the Loma Linda University Medical Center in 2012, “one of the most prestigious awards you can get at my hospital,” she said. This year, Jerez-Aguilar was recognized among other Inland Empire and LLUMC nurses, including Tony Dharmaraj, Monique Edwards, Hannah Li, Christina Niles, Amelia Tiefenthaler and Jennifer Blaire. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, traveling, spending time with her family, husband Noe, daughter Priscilla and son Ethan.