Salute to Nurses – West Boca Medical Center

Leanna Pereira has worked as a nurse for 24 years. She recently came to work in the infection control department at West Boca Medical Center. Pereira believes being a nurse is about making a difference in other people’s lives. She loves the teamwork approach that it takes to be successful in her field. Some of her most positive experiences as a nurse occured when she worked in the long-term acute care intensive care unit. It was there Pereira would see the sickest of patients being cared for and put on long-term ventilation. However, over time she would see patients progress and eventually go home after rehab. It’s stories like these that make her proud to do what she does. Pereira earned her associate degree from Macon State College, and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to music, sewing and watching movies.

 

 

Diana Grana is a registered nurse in the telemetry unit at West Boca Medical Center. Grana graduated from Keiser University, earning her associate degree in nursing. She says being a nurse is rewarding because each day when she wakes up, she knows she is making a difference in someone’s life. She considers herself positive, uplifting, confident and warm, which are characteristics someone needs when you’re caring for someone who is in a vulnerable state. According to Grana, while nursing produces its own set of challenges, it is the most rewarding, especially when you see patients get better, go home and rejoin their families. She remembers a time when she was having a rough day and a patient noticed she wasn’t herself. The patient told her not to get down on herself and went on to say she was the best nurse the patient had ever had and asked if he could say a prayer for her. Along with his wife, the patient said a prayer for Grana, who admits, it was one of the most moving moments in her life. When she isn’t at West Boca Medical Center, Grana enjoys running, cooking and spending as much time as possible with her toddler son. Grana says being a mother is her most important job.