In celebration of Nurses Week, we are proud to highlight Rakesha Holt, RN, known to her colleagues as Kesha, a member of the Emergency Department team at Artesia General Hospital whose career represents a remarkable clinical journey in southeast New Mexico. With more than 15 years of experience spanning long-term care, acute inpatient nursing, and critical flight transport, Rakesha brings a depth of skill and compassion that reaches far beyond the bedside. Throughout this week, we are pleased to share stories like hers and recognize the vital role nurses play in keeping our communities healthy and supported.
A Career Built from the Ground Up
Rakesha’s path in healthcare started where many of the best ones do: at the bedside, doing the work most people don’t see. She began in 2010 as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Landsun in Carlsbad, providing personal care to residents and learning early what patient dignity actually looks like in practice. Her instincts for leadership surfaced quickly. Before long, she was training and supervising the people around her.
That drive carried her forward. She earned her LPN certificate from Southeast New Mexico College in 2013 and her Associate Degree in Registered Nursing in 2019, all while working. She is currently pursuing her BSN because, as her career makes clear, Rakesha is not someone who stops moving forward.
Rakesha embodies the heart of emergency nursing, where compassion drives every action and going above and beyond isn’t the exception. It’s her standard.
Jessica Scoggin,
Emergency Department Director
A Decade in the Thick of It
For nearly ten years, Rakesha worked at a regional hospital, first as an LPN and then as an RN. She managed patient admissions, developed care plans, coordinated with physicians and specialists, administered medications, monitored wounds and IV sites, and helped patients and families navigate what comes next after a hospital stay. That kind of sustained, front-line clinical experience builds something a classroom cannot teach: instinct, calm, and the ability to look at a complicated situation and know exactly what needs to happen.
Then She Took It Airborne
In 2023, Rakesha joined Air Methods as a Flight Nurse based in Carlsbad. She was the clinician responsible for stabilizing critically ill patients during transport, often in tight spaces, with limited equipment, at altitude, and under the kind of pressure most healthcare settings never see. She managed ventilators, administered advanced emergency medications, and coordinated in real time with dispatch, ground crews, and receiving hospitals to ensure every handoff went smoothly.
Flight nursing is not for everyone. It demands the highest level of clinical skill and the steadiest of nerves. Rakesha did it for two years.
Certified Across the Full Spectrum of Care
Rakesha holds active certifications in BLS, ACLS, PALS, TNCC, NRP, and ENPC. That combination means she is trained and credentialed to respond to emergencies involving adults, children, newborns, and trauma patients. Rakesha has built herself into a clinician capable across the full range of human need, from a newborn’s first minutes to a trauma patient’s worst moments.
What Nursing Has Taught Her
Ask Rakesha what nursing means to her and she doesn’t reach for a tidy answer.
“When I set out on my journey in the medical field over 13 years ago, I had no idea the doors it would open, the opportunities it would present, or the people I would meet along the way. The thing I absolutely love about nursing is the ability to meet and help people from all walks of life. I have learned to advocate more, not only for myself but for my patients and their care. I have become a voice for those who didn’t have one for themselves. Sometimes the people I’ve taken care of for less than an hour will remain a part of me forever. Nursing isn’t always glamorous, but it’s the most rewarding job I will ever do in this lifetime.”
What AGH Means to Her
“From my coworkers to the physicians and everyone in between, we all work together as a team. We celebrate accomplishments and achievements as a team. I feel valued as a part of the team, like my opinion matters, who I am within this company matters. It is a small community hospital that invests in the community. They are proud to give back and help the people in it. Teamwork makes the dreamwork.”
A Nurse Who Sets the Standard
Jessica Scoggin, Director of the Emergency Department at AGH, describes Rakesha in terms that say everything.
“Rakesha Holt leads with a rare kind of compassion that reaches far beyond the bedside, consistently going above and beyond for every patient, while uplifting the entire hospital through her dedication, kindness, and unwavering commitment to care,” says Scoggin. “She embodies the heart of emergency nursing, where compassion drives every action and going above and beyond isn’t the exception. It’s her standard.”
Thank you, Rakesha, for the dedication, skill, and steady presence you bring to AGH and to every patient who comes through our doors.
Learn more about emergency care at Artesia General Hospital