VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network

Photo of Army Veteran Robert Acevedo (second from left) receiving the Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Nursing from Secretary Denis McDonough (far left)

Not long ago, nurse Robert “Rob” Acevedo was honored as the Salisbury VA Health Care System (HCS) clinical employee of the year. At the time, it was noted that the five-year employee has always been passionate about others. A U.S. Army Veteran, with a family legacy of military service, he continues to give of himself to help others, especially Veterans.  

Now, we are proud to celebrate his achievement again. Acevedo is a licensed practical nurse (LPN) with the Charlotte Health Care Center (HCC) Dermatology unit. He is trained in primary care and all medical specialty clinics, enabling him to safely and effectively work in any area throughout the HCC. He also works as charge nurse in the medical specialty department, helping to ensure all eleven clinics there have appropriate coverage to ensure functionality.

But that’s just the surface. Because of his efforts to help Veterans live their best lives, Robert was recently awarded the Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Nursing for LPNs by Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on May 1, 2024.

There are so many reasons his management team chose to nominate him for the honor. Acevedo has consistently gone above and beyond to provide high quality service to our Veterans, teammates, and leadership. He engages and encourages all nurses to seek out education, information, and research ways to make the clinic process more efficient for the Veteran experience. He’ll stop what he is doing to assist Veterans in need. That he was selected for the honor is testament to how special he truly is.

As he said in an earlier interview, “I just find the patients just so pleasant. There are things that we're able to do here at the VA that are more difficult to get done outside the VA, everything's under one roof. We're able to get things done relatively quickly here. It makes us feel good because we can visibly see the patient get better the next time they come in.”

His supervisors gush about his continual thirst for knowledge and efforts to improve himself, but he is really interested in universal continuous improvement.  An example of how he tries to make things better for Veterans: while reviewing a disease process with a patient of color, he noticed the teaching materials photos pictured subjects with Caucasian skin tone. He recognized the situation prevented patients from visualizing how this disease process might appear on skin of their color. He spearheaded a project to make the clinic and its tools more inclusive for Veterans with melanin skin tone.

In another instance, Acevedo collaborated with the Salisbury VA’s Center for Development and Civic Engagement (volunteer center), dermatology unit, and facility leadership to create a day to share health care information with the Veterans! As part of the event, he developed a skin cancer prevention handout that was distributed to more than 300 Veterans that day!
Everyone is enamored with Acevedo, but for different reasons.  The whole team is excited that he is receiving the high-level kudos.  But one co-worker’s comments sum up the overall feeling about this incredible person. 

According to one fellow nurse, “Nurse Rob is the beating heart of the team. He's the glue that holds us together, even when things are tough. He's the one who brings a smile to our faces, even when we're feeling down. Rob is a catalyst for positivity. He inspires us to be our best selves, and he creates a work environment where everyone feels valued.”

For more information about the Secretary's Excellence Award in Nursing and other winners, click here

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