Standing in the South Tower lobby on a mid-December afternoon, a group of nurses gathered to pay tribute to their beloved colleague, Tonya Merrigan (pictured at right), who passed away last fall following a battle with pancreatic cancer. She was memorialized during a special Nurse Honor Guard ceremony, with some of the attending nurses wearing old-time white nurse caps and reciting the Nightingale Tribute, named for the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale. The brief service is similar to a military tribute and officially releases the nurse from his or her nursing duties.

The Guard was developed by the Kansas State Nurses Association in 2003. The first Honor Guard held at our South Sacramento Medical Center was conducted in March 2022 and has since spread to other KP Northern California hospitals.

“Tonya worked with so many departments that doing the Honor Guard was appropriate to create some healing for the rest of us as well as giving her a tribute and ending her nursing service in style,” said Lanie Guiao-Tranchina, BSN, RN, PCCN, CMSRN, Staff Nurse IV, 4 South.

During the ceremony, a tribute was read by Loan Vo, BSN, RN, PCCN, SNIII, a colleague and friend who worked with Tonya on the same shift. Loan described Tonya’s journey to the nursing profession, her love for patients and her fellow nurses, and the joy and laughter she brought to others.

“As these words were read, it brought a smile (and tears) to my face because it perfectly described Tonya,” said Katie Hoganson, MSN, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, Chief Nurse Executive. “She is surely missed.”