Crowley resident Sharonetta Brooks honored as outstanding nurse

Last week was National Nurses Week, and the Louisiana State Nurses Association District IV celebrated by honoring 25 area nurses, including Crowley resident Sharonetta Brooks.
Because District IV encompasses a seven-parish area with over 10,000 registered nurses, it was a great honor for Brooks, who has been a nurse for approximately 30 years, to be selected among only 25 nurses recognized.
Nominations were submitted by colleagues, physicians and patients and reviewed by nursing association members who do not participate in the nomination phase.
Brooks, BSN, RN, works in the Pediatric Emergency Room at Women’s and Children’s hospital in Lafayette, where she is also a House Supervisor.
The nurses were recognized at the 17th annual “Acadiana Celebrates Nursing” banquet held at the Petroleum Club in Lafayette on Saturday, May 7.
In a statement made by LSNA District IV President Patricia La Brosse, La Brosse noted that the banquet is held during National Nurses Week every year “to honor those who come in, do their job, and never expect a thing in return other than the honor of doing that job.”
“Each year we get to shine a light on 25 of those amazing individuals and promote nursing excellence, which each honoree certainly represents at its highest level,” she said.
According to Brooks, she entered the health care profession after, as an adolescent, watching her mother taking care of elderly family members and her two children as she struggled with her own disabilities. Her mother’s example resulted in Brooks focusing on caring for the elderly in her community, as well as the sick and homebound.
Brooks began her career as a phlebotomist before obtaining her LPN education and licensure and, finally, her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing.
As a nurse, Brooks is praised by her peers for her skills, competency and leadership, her pride in the nursing profession and her continual pursuit of professional development. She mentors nursing students assigned to clinical experiences in the emergency room and she consistently volunteers for health screening and education initiatives in the community.
Brooks is a member of the LSNA, the Acadiana Black Nurses Association, the Louisiana School Nurses Association and the Emergency Nurses Association.
She attends Bethel C.M.E. Church in Crowley and is an active member of the Women of Wisdom mentoring organization.
Brooks is the daughter of Sherard Brooks of San Diego and the late Selena N. Brooks of Crowley, and she has one sister, Angelena Brooks of Crowley.