02/11/2026
Q&A with our Employee of the Year 2025, Miss Diane Aguilar!
This title recognizes exceptional dedication, compassion, and leadership — qualities Diane has demonstrated consistently throughout her career. We’re excited to learn more about her journey and the impact she's made at ClearSky Rehabilitation Hospital of Avondale.
Q1: What motivates you to bring such commitment and heart to your work each day?
A: "As crazy as it sounds, I have to say my mother. She was a nurse also. I remember her getting her white uniform ready for work the night before. The school pin, her name badge, ‘Mildred Baldwin RN.’ The pens and scissors in her pocket. Her nursing cap. I wanted to be just like her. And I remember her telling me, if you are going to do something, give it your best. So I have always tried to give my best."
Q2: How do you approach balancing patient goals, clinical recommendations, and family expectations when they don’t fully align?
A: "I try to listen to all of them. I believe in transparency, and sometimes this is hard. In healthcare, transparency can be a difficult conversation. But I have found in my professional and personal life this is the best way to be all the time — and to do this with kindness. Being kind is something we all should be."
Q3: You work closely with therapy, nursing, and medical teams. What do you enjoy most about that interdisciplinary collaboration?
A: "I have to say that all the staff at ClearSky Avondale are so approachable. I cannot think of one that, if I have a question or concern, I could not speak to. This makes collaboration easy for me, from the CEO through all the departments to the physicians and outside vendors."
Q4: Families often rely on case managers for guidance during transitions. How do you help them feel supported and informed?
A: "I try to provide resources and to be available as much as possible. I answer questions, and if I don’t have the answer, I try to help them find it. When a family is at the door of my office, I always try to stop, have them come in and sit down, and ask what I can do to help. Sometimes there is nothing I can do, but I can always take the time to listen. Again, I cannot always fix the problem, but I can be that person who takes a moment to hear a family walk through it."
Q5: How has your role as a case manager shaped you professionally or personally?
A: "This position is a blessing in my great nursing career. In the next year, I will have been in healthcare for 50 years. I went to a vocational program in high school and graduated from my practical nursing program a week after my high school graduation. I have watched healthcare and patient care change and grow over these years. Life experience and professional experience really make you more understanding. Both are learned and not taught out of a book — or, in this day, by artificial intelligence."
Q6: What’s something small that consistently brightens your day at work?
A: "The people that I work with. This team at this hospital is truly amazing, and I have worked a lot of places. They work together like they like each other, and that makes the hardest days easier."
Q7: Outside of work, what helps you recharge so you can continue showing up fully for your patients?
A: "I have a family that is truly the best — all of them from coast to coast. I have sons who grew up to be good men, daughters-in-law, a beautiful granddaughter, sisters, aunts, and cousins who all are proud and supportive of me and my crazy life. And then there is Harley-Davidson. Ride to live, live to ride. And finally... if I had to explain, you wouldn’t understand."
A note from Diane:
"I cannot say thank you enough for wanting me to share my thoughts and for the honor of being chosen for this award. I am still trying to wrap my head around it and am very humbled by it. Like I said the night you named me Employee of the Year, I think my mother would be proud of me."
On behalf of all of us at ClearSky Avondale, we are proud to have you as a shining part of our team. Thank you.
