Celebrity donation was no joke for Lakewood Ranch Medical Center nurse

Jimmy Kimmel’s celebrity status has spread to Lakewood Ranch Medical Center.

The TV late-night talk show host presented 1,000 face shields to Lt. Rob Guerra, a U.S. Navy Reserve nurse who also works as a registered nurse at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center.

Guerra brought the personal protection equipment to the hospital June 14.

The personal protection equipment was part of the gifts presented to Guerra from Kimmel for being a “health care hero.”

Guerra said the equipment will be important if Lakewood Ranch Medical Center sees a spike in COVID-19 patients or does community outreach.

Guerra was deployed to New York on April 9 to help during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he returned May 29.

While he was in New York, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center staff members promised to take care of his family and also put together a care package.

The hospital asked Guerra to write about his experiences in New York for National Nurses Week, which was May 6-12, and to post them online with #HealthCareHero. It caught the attention of “Jimmy Kimmel Live From His House,” which has a Health Care Hero segment.

Kimmel surprised Guerra while he was in New York with a new F-150 Ford truck and the face shields for the staff at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center.

“It was honestly the biggest surprise for me,” Guerra said.

His wife, Kayla, worked with show producers to surprise him with the new truck and personal protection equipment at their home in Palmetto. Kayla and Rob have two daughters, 8-year-old Raelyn and 4-month-old Camila.

“Little did I know they had a camera ready in my house with a truck in my driveway,” he said. “They totally blew me away.”

Even if he hadn’t been sent to New York by the Navy, Guerra was considering a trip to help.

“As a nurse, naturally, that’s part of what you do — you just help out,” he said.