As we celebrate our Veterans and current members of the US military this Memorial Day, we highlight one of Valley Medical Center’s own, Army Reserves Major Naira Montero, RN, a member of Valley’s Nursing Float Pool.
Serving as a Reservist, nurse, mother and wife, Naira knows a few things about hard work. If you ask what she does in her spare time, she’ll probably respond, “What spare time?” With little break time between various duties, she still manages to find time to give back to her community, signing up to promote Valley when her hectic schedule allows.
An RN at Valley for more than seven years, Naira has served in both active and reserve duty in the Army. She enlisted in 1997 as an Army Medic, then commissioned as an Army Reserve Officer through the UW ROTC program. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, she volunteered for mobilization and was placed on active duty from 2001 to 2004. She took seven years off from the military to raise her children, and then joined the Reserves. The Army Reserves enabled Naira to complete her BSN and within the next two years her MSN/ARNP.
Naira believes in giving back to her community because of the example her parents set, both immigrants from the Philippines to the United States in 1978, and to her strong faith. Her parents always instilled being thankful to God for all she has and the idea that we should give to others.
A busy woman, Naira still finds time for an occasional massage to relax. She enjoys weekly dinners at her husband’s grandmother’s house or her parents’ house, as well as spending time outdoors with her three kids.
