Nursing Leadership

The nursing leaders at Northwest Texas Healthcare System include:

Annie Mendoza — Chief Nursing Officer

Annie Mendoza, RN, MSN, FACHE, is an accomplished healthcare executive with more than 25 years of experience, having served as a CNO and formerly Chief Quality Officer at Mountainview Regional Medical Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Annie received her Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio along with her Master of Science in Nursing. She is certified as a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and is an American College of Healthcare Executives, Fellow (FACHE).

Carolyn Hudson — Assistant Chief Nursing Officer

Carolyn Hudson, BSN, is the Assistant Chief Nursing Officer at Northwest. She started at the hospital as a patient care specialist in 2004 and continued as an RN when she worked in the ICU and PACU. She returned in 2013 and worked in the NICU and ER. Carolyn advanced to a Charge Nurse role in the ER, and a Nurse Manager supervising the Nursing Resource Unit. She was then promoted to Director of Nursing Operations in 2018. With her diverse nursing background, Carolyn brings a variety of knowledge and skills to lead her departments, including the House Supervisors, Nursing Resource Unit, Vascular Access Team and Nursing Support Services.

Carolyn promotes patient safety, making quality care a top priority. She encourages staff engagement and promotes growth opportunities for all employees within the organization. She values staff input and expert knowledge for process improvement projects. Her passionate leadership style is fair and consistent and supports her processes for accountability with her staff. Carolyn focuses on communication and equipping her staff with the tools and resources required to complete their daily jobs at high quality levels.

Carolyn develops and maintains programs that deliver high quality care that is supported by evidence-based practices. She encourages staff growth and development that is reflected in day-to-day operations. Carolyn supports processes that promote safe and efficient patient throughput, while supporting organizational units’ staffing to accommodate patient care. She encourages recruitment and retention efforts from each and every staff member regardless of their role within the organization. Carolyn values the relationships she has grown within Northwest Texas Healthcare System and hopes others will share in her enthusiasm as she pridefully invites others to join the team.

Darrell Daniel — Director of Surgical Services

Darrell D. Daniel, MSN, RN, CNOR, NE-BC, is a former Marine and teacher who adopted nursing as his second career. His passion is to serve and help others. Darrell has a Master of Nursing and is a Certified Perioperative Nurse. He has led multiple committees to improve the quality and safety of patients undergoing healthcare. One of his proudest moments in his professional growth was the authoring and presentation of a patient safety improvement named PIVIE (Peripheral IntraVenous Infiltration Extravasation), which was accepted and implemented by the Solutions for Patient Safety. The PIVIE is now implemented at pediatric institutions across the nation.

Darrell has also implemented AORN education for nursing and associative operating room disciplines at three institutions, with an emphasis on Zero Harm in patient care. Throughout his nursing career, he has had experience in all areas of the hospital with an expertise in surgical services leadership.

Tyler Morin — Director of Medical-Surgical

Tyler Morin, BSN, serves as the Director of Medical-Surgical, a dedicated and passionate leader driven to bring quality care to the community. In 2017 Tyler joined the Northwest team in the Acute Inpatient Rehab Unit as the Nurse Manager and Admissions Coordinator. During his time in Acute Inpatient Rehab, Tyler sharpened his leadership skill set by collaborating with and developing his staff. After growing the Acute Inpatient Rehab unit, Tyler was ready to take on a new adventure as the Director of Medical Surgical. His approach of collaboration and engagement with staff, creates a rewarding work environment.

Tyler has a passion for professional growth, such as "Grow Your Own" a career path for Patient Care Specialist to launch their career in healthcare and move towards a goal of nursing. His hands on strategy to development and teamwork showcases within the work environment. Tyler’s passion for quality care and professional growth for his team, drives him to make Northwest a better place each day.

Denise Gouldy — Director of the Women Infant Health Department

Denise Gouldy, MSN, RNC-OB, is the Director of the Women Infant Health Department and has been at Northwest Texas Healthcare System since 1989. Denise is a native of the Panhandle Region of Texas. She has 29 years of experience in the Women Infant Health Department at NWTHS, serving most recently as a Charge Nurse on Labor and Delivery since 2003. Additionally, she has served as a clinical instructor at both West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

Denise attended Amarillo College and obtained her ADN, progressing on at WTAMU to obtain her BSN and MSN. She has obtained her Certification in Inpatient Obstetrics from the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses in Advanced Fetal Monitoring. She was previously a member of the HROB transport team. Denise brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role of Director of Women Infant Health.

Denise works closely with her staff and values the input each member brings to the team. Patient safety and satisfaction along with providing the best evidence based practice remains her focus. She believes that open communication with staff and physicians is integral in maintaining a successful unit and a great place to work.

Trisha Diaz — Director of Nursing Education

Trisha Diaz, BSN, RNC, is the Director of Nursing Education at Northwest. She graduated from the Amarillo College LVN program in December of 1994, then began her career in Labor and Delivery. Trisha then went on to graduate from Amarillo College ADN program and received her BSN from West Texas A&M University in 2015. Trisha is currently enrolled in the MSN program at West Texas State University.

She fell in love with Women’s Services and laboring expectant mothers. She then transitioned to the Education department as a Staff Development specialist. In 2018, she became the Manager of Women’s Services and was promoted to Director of Nursing Education in 2023.

Trisha leads the nursing education team comprised of Education Coordinators and Unite Based Educators with the goal of promoting the professional growth and development of nurses. Her favorite quote: “Sometimes change isn’t what you want, but it might be what we need. Not everything is meant to last forever.”

Debra Hetzler, BSN, RN — Director of Trauma Services

Andrea V. Gonzalez — Clinical Operations Director

With nearly 30 years of medical experience and 17 years in healthcare leadership, Andrea Gonzalez brings extensive expertise in driving quality improvement and operational excellence. Before joining us in October 2024, Andrea served as Director of Clinical Operations at Doctors Hospital of Laredo, where she oversaw critical departments, including telemetry, infection prevention and labor and delivery. Her leadership helped reduce CAUTI rates to zero and increased outpatient clinic volume by 35% through service expansion and streamlined processes. A strategic problem solver and collaborator, Andrea is known for her commitment to patient safety, building strong connections with staff, physicians and community partners to enhance patient care and outcomes.

Alissa Dillard — Director of Emergency Department

Alissa Dillard, BSN, RN, is the Director of the Emergency Department and has been at Northwest Texas Healthcare system since 2010. Alissa was selected as a nurse intern at Northwest in her last year of nursing school and interned in NICU, newborn nursery and labor and delivery. After nursing school, Alissa started as a registered nurse in newborn nursery and post-partum. She spent two years in Women Infant Health prior to transferring to the Emergency Department. Alissa has 12 years of experience in emergency medicine, serving most recently as manager of the emergency department from 2022.

Alissa graduated from New Mexico State University with her BSN. She served as charge nurse and flight nurse with LifeStar for several years prior to transitioning into management.

Alissa believes in leading by example and works closely with her staff each day. Employee satisfaction and safety are her primary focus. Alissa has a strong working relationship with pre-hospital providers as well as physicians to promote a teamwork approach to provide the best patient care possible.