At Host Healthcare, we recognize that our travel healthcare professionals are more than their jobs. To recognize and celebrate their rich backgrounds, diverse personal values, and unique qualities that shape our communities, we are honored to announce Diedra Walker as the recipient of our first Radiance Award – an accolade that embodies the spirit of diversity, positivity, and outstanding commitment to making a difference in the workplace and beyond.

What is the Radiance Award?

The Radiance Award is a prestigious honor sponsored by Host Healthcare’s internal culture teams, including the Black Excellence Team, Asian American and Pacific Islander Team, and Hispanic Heritage Month Committee. This quarterly award is nominated by an internal team member and presented to one Host Healthcare traveler who goes above and beyond to foster diversity, positivity, and authenticity within the workplace. To be eligible for a Radiance Award, a nominee must:

  • Be a current Host Healthcare traveler
  • Model what it means to shine brightly, positively, and authentically
  • Rally and inspire others around imagining future possibilities
  • Have raised awareness of workplace diversity and inclusion
  • Seek new challenges and challenge others to work towards making a difference in the workforce for future nurses

Our First Radiance Award Winner

Our inaugural Radiance Award winner is Diedra Walker, an Emergency Room nurse of three years and a cherished member of the Host Healthcare community.

Lauren Redig, Diedra’s Recruiter, submitted a heartfelt nomination that captured why Diedra deserved the title.

“From my first interaction with Diedra, I knew she was a nurse I wanted to work with. She was inviting, fun, and pleasant, but knew exactly what she wanted. She immediately felt like a friend, not a stranger. Although she came to me at a time when jobs in her specialty were hard to come by, Diedra always stayed positive, even when she received bad news. Diedra really honored and embraced the team aspect of our relationship – it would have been easy to get discouraged, but we both refused to give up until she landed the job she wanted.  She put her trust in me and in Host to get her to a facility where she could touch the lives of many patients and help achieve our mission of Helping Others Live Better. Her positive outlook and demeanor was so motivating and powerful to me. Diedra has been a pleasure to work with, and I can only imagine how great her patients feel having such a radiant individual caring for them.”

When asked how she maintains positivity and authenticity in her career, Diedra expressed:

“I always had a feeling that I have a purpose, that I have passion, but I didn’t know what to put that passion into. Recently, I realized that my purpose is to be a light in this world. To show love, compassion, kindness, and understanding to everyone that crosses my path. Even though I know no one wakes up wanting to go to the hospital,  I remind myself that I don’t know what people are going through. If I were in their shoes, I would want the same compassion, kindness, and understanding that I’m giving them. With that perspective, I try to encourage them, listen to them, and foster an environment of trust to make their experience better. Hopefully in the future I am able to develop my career and be a light to even more people.”

We are honored that Diedra allowed Host Healthcare to be a part of her travel journey, where she continues to shine her light for all her patients.