Pictured here (left to right) are: hospital CEO Victor Carrasco; honoree Cristina Roque; Alex Hernandez, assistant director of nursing; and Gretchen Hellgren, unit director.
Cristina Roque is the recipient of our Exemplary Employee Award for July. This award recognizes outstanding employees who demonstrate their commitment to patients, family and co-workers through acts of caring, compassion and excellent customer service.
Roque functions as both a Case Manager and an MDS Coordinator, serving our Sub-Acute Unit. She joined our Gardena team in December 2014.
She was nominated by two co-workers who had this to say:
“Cristina is our case manager here within the sub-acute unit. My experiences with her have been nothing but positive ones. I appreciate the hard work that she puts into reviewing patient inquiries when sent to our unit. She takes the initiative to go above and beyond to gather all the necessary information before presenting the case to the Director and the rest of the team.
I appreciate her diligence towards collaborating with the family members of our patients towards ancillary services such as appointments outside the facility, along with collaborating with the case managers in acute whenever our patients get transferred to a higher level of care and following up towards admitting them back once they are stable. Cristina’s work speaks for itself, and I am glad to have her be a part of our team!”
Another nominator wrote this:
“I can’t say enough about Cristina Roque and her incredible work ethic. She relentlessly works to ensure our residents are taken care of timely in whatever capacity her Case Management and MDS roles can support. She is collaborative with all the disciplines to make sure all details of whatever is needed on every case she reviews, to complete the task at hand. She is thorough and disciplined in everything she does. She never hesitates to help others–even if it is not her job, she jumps in to help. She manages not only the day-to-day operations of the resident’s insurance, admission criteria authorizations, etc., but also interacts with the families.
She helps them solve problems and listens to their concerns and genuinely cares for the resident’s well-being. Cristina has a big heart; she is humble and is such a compassionate person. She is such a hard worker, and so knowledgeable about the legal and regulatory aspects of her job. Her talent stands out among us every day, and I am proud to know her and have her on my Team!”
Cristina’s dedication to our hospital and to our company is greatly appreciated. Her work contributes to the care of our patients. in meaningful ways. Congratulations to Cristina!
7.1.2026