Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital nurse selected as a nurse of the year

BARRINGTON – Victoria Lozano is a registered nurse specializing in diabetes care and education. She was selected a 2024 Nurse of the Year for her exemplary demonstration of Advocate Health Care’s core nursing values and unwavering delivery of best-in-class care.

“Advocate Health nurses are committed to delivering exceptional, evidence-based and equitable care for all,” Jane Dus, senior vice president, chief nursing officer of Advocate Health – Midwest Region, said in a news release. “It is a true honor to witness the remarkable impact they make in transforming lives through innovative and compassionate care every day.”

Lozano’s innate compassion, desire to help others and love of science led her to pursue a career in nursing. She was inspired to specialize in diabetes education at a young age when her brother was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

Lozano noticed the family’s physician did not provide the education necessary for her parents to successfully manage her brother’s disease and as a native Spanish-speaking family, the language barrier caused further disconnect.

Eleven years into her career as a nurse and seven years as a certified diabetes care and education specialist, Lozano has become the nurse her family needed all those years ago.

“I hold diabetes very close to my heart,” Lozano said in the release. “I truly love to bring education and empowerment to my patients, community and family.”

She meets one-on-one with patients to equip them with the tools they need to manage diabetes.

When Lozano interacts with Spanish-speaking patients, she’s able to authentically connect with them and build trust so they feel comfortable asking questions about their care.

Lozano’s work extends beyond the walls of the hospital. She leads a diabetes support group and recently started another secondary support group for Spanish speakers. Additionally, she provides diabetes information and training sessions at local schools and community organizations.

“Victoria is an outstanding nurse with a gift for connecting meaningfully with her patients,” Mary Roesch, chief nursing officer at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, said in the release. “She also does an excellent job representing our hospital when she’s working out in the community to provide critical diabetes education.”

“It is a wonderful feeling to be seen and recognized for everything that I do,” Lozano said. “Often my patients need someone to see them and believe in them so they can be successful and this Nurse of the Year recognition gives me the same feeling of encouragement.”

More than 1,200 nominations for the premier award were received on behalf of nurses across the patient care continuum. These frontline nurses represent diversity in their backgrounds and experiences, including honorees with decades of experience and others new to the profession yet already making an impact on their patients, colleagues and communities.

Nominations were submitted by clinicians and teammates and reviewed by peer committees for blinded judging according to each nominee’s passion for patient care, commitment to service, solution-oriented abilities and evidence-based practice.

Advocate Health Care is part of Advocate Health, which employs more than 42,000 nurses across the nation, including 29 acute care facilities and more than 450 sites of care in the Midwest.