Los Alamos Medical Center Names Julia Kilcer As 2026 Mercy Award Winner

Los Alamos, New Mexico — May 22, 2026 — Los Alamos Medical Center is proud to announce that Julia Kilcer, RN, Clinical Educator, has been recognized as the facility’s 2026 Mercy Award winner. The Mercy Award recognizes one employee from each of Lifepoint Health’s facilities who profoundly touches the lives of others and best represents the spirit and values on which the company was founded. The award is considered the highest honor a Lifepoint employee can receive.

Julia has been the Clinical Educator at LAMC since August 2024, and while she shines brightly in that role, she is equally known across the hospital for her selfless willingness to do whatever it takes to put patients first and deliver excellent care. Her approachability and expertise make her the hospital’s “go-to” for clinical, procedural, and policy questions. She is both patient and kind, endearing her to all staff across varying skill levels.

“In her time at our hospital, Julia has been an exemplary role model and exhibits all of our core values in her role through her skills, kindness, compassion and positive attitude,” said Bob Singletary, LAMC interim chief executive officer. “I cannot say enough about Julia’s many contributions to our facility and community – including during those unseen times on nights and weekends. She is truly deserving of this prestigious honor.”

A trusted and dedicated team member, Julia routinely fills in as an Emergency Department nurse, Intensive Care Unit nurse, house supervisor, and clinical liaison to ensure coverage and to care for our community and region. She is a trainer for the hospital’s Handle with Care Program, co-authors policies, volunteers at drive-thru clinics, participates in community events and education, and supports LAMC’s outpatient clinics. She provides numerous additional learning opportunities through workshops and lunch-and-learn programs, focusing on how every hospital employee can make a difference together to improve patient outcomes through topics such as infection control, fall prevention, and safety goals.

“Working as a nurse in the medical profession can be overwhelming and exhausting at times. Julia brings calmness to the chaos by staying calm and collected and jumping in to assist in critical situations,” a nursing colleague wrote about Julia in an award recommendation letter. “Julia approaches her job duties at a level that we would all want to see from each other: with full commitment, integrity, and passion.”

“Julia puts the facility, patients and community first, before her own personal needs,” a second letter reads. “She takes her role as a nurse extremely seriously, and goes back to the foundation of nursing, ‘Care for those in need.’”

Julia has had a varied nursing career where she has worked in hospital settings, provided support for the elderly, and at one point for over a year led a team of nurses in Sitcki, Kingdom of Eswatini, on home visits to rural areas to identify and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and related infections, manage other chronic disease and provide palliative care.

Each facility winner, including Julia, will be considered for Lifepoint’s 2026 companywide Mercy Award. The companywide winner will be announced and honored during a ceremony in Nashville, Tenn., in September.