Heroes of compassionate patient care: celebrating nurses

6/19/2026

National Nurses Week was in May, offering Banner Health and the patients we care for a chance to celebrate the more than 17,000 nurses employed by Banner across six states.

“Nursing is a calling grounded in connection, excellence, and purpose,” says Robin Shepherd, Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive for Banner Health, who started her career as a nurse at the bedside. “Our nurses lead with compassion, innovate with courage, and create healing environments where patients, families, and team members can thrive.”

Nurses are there every step of the way for patients. They walk patients and families through some of life’s most vulnerable moments, offering comfort, skill, and compassion when it matters most.

During National Nurses Week, the Banner Health Foundation invited our patients and families to express their gratitude to Banner nurses who made a difference in their care. Nearly 350 patients shared positive stories of appreciation for their Banner nurse, and 30 nurses were recognized as Banner Health Heroes with patients making a charitable gift in their honor to support the Nursing Development Fund. This special fund provides continuous professional advancement opportunities to our nursing workforce, helps aspiring nurses complete their degrees and certifications, and offers services to support the mental, physical, and emotional and health of our nurses.

“Nursing is meaningful work, but it is also demanding work. To know that a patient or family member took the time to honor a nurse in this way is both encouraging and lasting,” says Shepherd.

Below is just one of the stories shared by a grateful family member about a special Banner nurse named Molly:

“In July 2025, my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. From the moment we stepped through the door for her first appointment until her final visit—when she was told she was terminal and that there was nothing more to be done—Molly, my mother's oncology nurse, was there for us.

My mother chose Banner for her care because of Molly. She continued her care at Banner because of Molly. We were strangers when we first met. My mother was just another name in a chart, another MRN number arriving at the oncology center. But Molly changed that immediately. She was the one my mom always wanted to call when she was in pain, when she was scared, when she was struggling—because she trusted Molly completely.

Molly didn't treat her like a cancer patient; she treated my mother like family. She made my mother feel like she was fighting alongside her for survival, that she wasn't alone in her cancer battle, and that someone was behind her 100%.

It's hard for the older generation to trust their medical team sometimes, and yet even though Molly was younger than my mom, my mother believed in her in every way. My mom always said she never felt scared because she knew she had Molly.

As we all know in the health care field, some things are beyond our control, and sometimes the disease wins. My mother's battle ended on Dec. 21, but Molly gave my mom the peace of knowing that Banner—which Molly represented—did everything they could to save her life.

I hope Molly knows the difference she made for my mother as she began her end-of-life journey. She is truly an angel here on earth who wears a Banner name tag. My family will always be grateful for what she did and how she helped our mother. Thank you so much, Molly.”