Cristi Luis honored as May’s Healthcare Professional of the Month by the Community Health Foundation of Kay County

Cristi Luis has been selected as the Community Health Foundation’s May Healthcare Professional of the Month. Cristi was nominated by Morgan Swain who said, “Cristi is a registered nurse at Grand Mental Health serving both children and adults. Cristi is known for being warm, welcoming, and INCREDIBLE. Cristi always goes above and beyond for clients and advocates for their physical health and medication needs. She greets everyone with a warm smile and compassion. Cristi meets everyone where they are and with kindness no matter what. Cristi is knowledgeable and very skilled at her job.”

Cristi says that she was a “Conoco baby” so her family moved around a lot. In the seventh grade, her family moved to Ponca City and she graduated from Po-Hi. Cristi earned her nursing prerequisites from Rose State and OSU-OKC and graduated from NOC’s nursing school. While she was in nursing school, Cristi worked at the hospital gift shop. After getting her RN license, she worked in the ICU, labor and delivery, did some travel nursing and then worked in the operating room.

Cristi started working at Grand Mental Health in July 2021. She sees adult and pediatric clients. She works closely with the care team and providers to get medications started and/or continued based on the client’s needs. Cristi helps to make medication changes as appropriate due to side effects or the effectiveness of the medication. She also does injections and is in charge of the MAT program. This is a federal program that assists people with a current or history of opioid use and assists in their recovery.

Cristi states she loves her job, “because I help people navigate through a difficult time in their lives. When someone first comes into the clinic, they are possibly feeling the worst they have in their life. They don’t know what to do to feel better, but they took the first step just walking through the doors. When they come in for follow- up appointments with me and they are smiling and doing the things they love again, that’s when I feel like I have made a difference. We always say if we get one person a week that says we have helped them, that’s all we need to keep doing what we are doing.”

In her free time, Cristi enjoys hanging out with her husband, Jeromy “Lulu” Luis, and her sons, Mason, 16, and Kannon, 11. She loves sports, especially football, and goes to many OSU and Kansas City Chiefs games every year.

Congratulations to Cristi Luis! If you are interested in nominating an outstanding healthcare professional in Kay County from any healthcare specialty, the Community Health Foundation would love to hear about your nominee. A nomination form is available on the Foundation website at chfkayco.com and each monthly winner will be awarded with $100 in Ponca City Chamber Bucks.