Yuma County Nurses Gala honors local health workers, kicks off Nurses Week

More than 60 nurses and advanced practice providers took the spotlight at the Quechan Casino Resort Pipa Event Center, where the Yuma County Nurses Foundation opened National Nurses Week with dinner, dancing and awards for local health workers. The gala ran from 6 p.m. to midnight and brought together healthcare employees, community partners and supporters for an evening built around one message: nursing is central to Yuma County’s health system.

The foundation recognized three category winners from a field of nominees that stretched across the county’s nursing workforce. Ha’ani Patchen, a workforce development educator at Onvida Health, won Excellence in Nursing Mentorship and was also identified by the foundation as the 2026 Yuma County Nurse of the Year. Kristin Parra, chief executive officer of Yuma Rehabilitation Hospital, received Excellence in Nursing Leadership. Briana D. Smith, lead advanced practice provider of specialty services at Onvida Health, won Clinical Nurse Excellence.

The breadth of the nominations mattered. Yuma County Nurses Foundation said its awards process is built around anonymized nomination essays reviewed by three separate panels of five professionals each, and some categories are capped at 50 nominees. With more than 60 nominees across three categories in 2026, the gala reflected the range of roles nurses now fill in Yuma County, from bedside care and advanced practice work to education and leadership.

The organization itself is still young. Yuma County Nurses Foundation was created in 2024 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, but it was inspired by a local nurses celebration tradition that started in 2009. The 2026 event was the foundation’s first annual gala under the YCNF name, extending a county tradition that has grown from a single Nurse of the Year honor into a broader recognition program for Registered Nurses and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses.

Support for the event also showed up in the turnout. Ticket sales for the gala ran from March 8 through April 18, with individual tickets priced at $55 and tables for 10 sold for $600. Onvida Health served as the platinum title sponsor, underscoring the close ties between the foundation and the county’s major healthcare employers.

National Nurses Week runs May 6 through 12, giving the gala a clear purpose beyond one night of celebration. In a county where hospitals, rehab centers and specialty services depend on keeping experienced nurses close to home, the recognition effort doubled as a reminder that morale, professional development and recruitment all matter to the future of care in Yuma County.