Maricela (Elena) Bandel-Ramirez, BSN, CCRN, is a future NP leader who is recognized for her leadership, teaching skills, work ethic and community-minded approach to patients and their families. As a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) student, at University of South Alabama, Bandel-Ramirez’s goal is to practice as an adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner (AGACNP), in both rural and urban settings to increase patients’ access to care.

The first in her family to attend graduate school, Bandel-Ramirez would also be the first member of the AGACNP specialty to practice at her rural health care facility, Mid-Columbia Medical Center (MCMC), in The Dalles. Bandel-Ramirez aspires to improve care in her community by providing high-quality, culturally-competent health care for migrant farm workers and immersing herself in an extended tutelage for a cardiovascular subspecialty.

MCMC’s Co-Director of Hospitalist Services Thomas Nichol, MD, has worked closely with Bandel-Ramirez for over six years and describes her as a kind, compassionate provider who includes families in patients’ health care decisions and brings a wellness-minded approach to her work.

This fall, Bandel-Ramirez was recognized as a co-recipient of this year’s NPO Nanette Clapper Memorial Scholarship, which promotes professional growth and recognizes emerging NP leaders (seen above receiving the award from NPO Chair Jean-Claude Provost).

In recommending Bandel-Ramirez for the award, colleagues at MCMC emphasized the special way which Bandel-Ramirez approaches difficult situations in her work, and takes a team-based approach to solving problems where she better knowledge of, or experience with, a topic than a practicing physician. She is able to find solutions that lead to proactive conversations, greater respect for the nursing profession and information sharing among the intensive care unit (ICU) nurses Bandel-Ramirez is married with two children, Daisy and an adopted son Logan. Elena and her husband Dave are devoted to serving their community and passing on that passion to Daisy and Logan. Former emergency medical technicians (EMTs) Elena and Dave currently volunteer to assist families in need with car seat installations and education on proper use. Bandel-Ramirez noted that her volunteer projects are important for those she helps and “demonstrate valuable life lessons in a healthy way to the Bandel-Ramirez children.”

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