Nurses know that healing a patient goes beyond taking care of their physical and medical needs. That’s why they go above and beyond to heal the entire person, including their soul.
It’s for this reason that pediatric nurse Joe Ronquillo dances for his patients at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital in Idaho.
“The greatest joy for me is me dancing for them here at the hospital,” Ronquillo told KTVB 7. “It’s not just treating the disease it’s treating the entire patient, so I think those are the moments that I cherish the most.”
Ronquillo has become quite famous for his sweet dance moves. You can find videos of him strutting his stuff all over the internet.
“One parent will film a little video and then it will just spread around,” he said.
But Ronquillo isn’t only known for his dance moves. He’s also known for the incredible care he provides his pediatric patients.
Ronquillo has been a nurse at St. Luke’s for 16 years. His parents immigrated to Idaho from El Salvador before he was born because of war. Now he and his family work to help our nations most vulnerable in their time of need.
Working at St. Luke’s has turned into a family affair.
“My whole family works here. My sister Lavinia and Sabrina are both respiratory therapists, and my brother Marvin is a nurse downstairs in the NICU,” said Ronquillo.
Ronquillo is truly loved by all of his patients and their families.
“Joe is always willing to go the extra mile for his patients. He is very patient and family-focused and makes sure his patients feel comfortable and well cared for. It is just great to watch our little patients light up when they see Joe. He is that kind of nurse,” a piece on The Daisy Foundation’s website states.
Ronquillo was also nominated for as one of “Seven’s Heroes” for his loving care of his oncology patients.
“It means everything. I think working with our oncology patients is very meaningful to me because I know they are chronically ill children that have to stay here, and often times its days or weeks or even longer,” Ronquillo said. “I think it’s an amazing thing to be a part of that.”
He was also chosen to appear in a commercial for the hospital.
When he first was approached by the hospital about his dancing for the commerical, he wasn’t sure if he was going to get in trouble or not.
“They contacted me and I said ‘oh no I’m gonna get in trouble for doing a lot of this nonsense I’ve been doing’ but it was actually the opposite,” he told Inside Edition. “They actually liked it and I think a lot of them didn’t know that this was going on and so they said maybe we can make a commercial out of this and show them what the pediatric annex is all about. “
Some might have even thought that he was an actor playing the part of the nurse in the commercial.
But Ronquillo and his dance moves are very real. He calls it “giving extra flavor.” In addition to dancing, he’s even been known to volunteer as a water balloon target. Providing that “extra flavor” is all worth it for Ronquillo. For him, seeing his young patients smiles is “the best feeling in the world.”
Learn more about Ronquillo’s work in the video below.
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