A Calling to Care: Kass Scholarship Recipient Elvin Martinez Is Giving Back to the Community That Helped Him
For Elvin Martinez, nursing has never been about medicine alone. It’s about sitting beside someone who feels alone. Offering a warm blanket. Bringing a cup of ice water. Listening when someone needs to talk. And sometimes, simply being a quiet presence during life’s most difficult moments.
Those simple acts of compassion first drew Elvin to volunteer with Hospice of Washington County. They also inspired him to pursue a career in nursing—a path that recently earned him the 2026 Frederic H. Kass III, M.D. Endowed Scholarship.
A Community That Became Home
When Elvin was 13 years old, his family moved to the United States in search of a safer future. Starting over wasn’t easy. His family faced significant challenges as they worked to establish a new life. At one point, they were without stable housing, relying on the kindness of others and community resources while they got back on their feet. Throughout those difficult years, local food banks, free medical clinics, and caring healthcare providers helped his family through some of their most vulnerable moments.
Those experiences never left him. “I’ve always been grateful for how this community helped my family,” Elvin says. “I always felt like I wanted to give something back.” That desire to serve would eventually shape the course of his life.
Discovering Hospice—and a New Calling
Long before he decided to become a nurse, Elvin was already looking for ways to serve others. As a high school student, he began volunteering at local retirement communities and nursing homes to complete community service hours. But even after those hours were finished, he kept volunteering because he enjoyed connecting with older adults and making a difference in their lives.
During that time, he met hospice volunteers visiting residents. “I saw hospice volunteers come in just to spend time with patients or provide companionship,” Elvin recalls. “I kept that in the back of my mind as something I wanted to do someday.”
The idea became even more meaningful after the loss of one of his grandparents. Although he couldn’t be there in person, knowing his grandfather had compassionate people by his side brought him comfort. When life became more stable for his family, Elvin searched online for volunteer opportunities and found Hospice of Washington County. “I thought, ‘Let’s do it,'” he says.
He soon began volunteering at Doey’s House, visiting patients, providing companionship, helping families, assisting with fundraising events, and lending a hand wherever it was needed. Those experiences would ultimately change the course of his life.
Discovering His Calling
Originally, Elvin planned to pursue a degree in chemistry. But while volunteering with Hospice of Washington County, something changed. As a hospice volunteer, he witnessed the extraordinary compassion nurses showed patients and families during life’s most difficult moments. “It really opened my eyes to the healthcare field and the good that nurses do for both the family and the patient,” he says. “Especially in pain management and just talking to someone who is terminally ill. I really enjoyed it.”
Watching hospice nurses care for patients with skill, dignity, and empathy helped him realize he had found his calling. He changed his major to nursing and has never looked back.
Caring for Patients One Person at a Time
Today, Elvin is entering his final year of nursing school while working as a patient care technician in a critical care unit, following a nursing externship on a telemetry floor. Although he plans to begin his career in critical care before eventually becoming a family nurse practitioner, his philosophy remains remarkably simple.
“If I’m able to make a patient’s day better by providing a warm blanket or just a cup of ice water, anything that makes their stay and pain just slightly better, it brings me immense joy,” he wrote in his scholarship application. “Nursing is not about the nurses. It is about the patients and their families.”
More Than a Volunteer
Since joining Hospice of Washington County, Elvin has served in many different ways. He’s volunteered at Doey’s House, provided companionship visits for patients, assisted with community events like the golf tournament and shred event, and helped families with practical needs whenever asked.
While he enjoys every opportunity to serve, it’s the quiet moments with patients that have left the deepest impression. “Sometimes patients like to talk,” he says. “Sometimes they just want a quiet presence.” Those moments of connection have reinforced the kind of nurse he hopes to become.
Finding Purpose Through Service
For Elvin, nursing isn’t simply a profession. It’s a way to honor the community that once supported his family and to ensure others receive the same compassion when they need it most. “I believe my life will have achieved its purpose if I’m able to serve this community.”
That commitment extends beyond the hospital walls. After gaining experience as a registered nurse, Elvin hopes to become a family nurse practitioner, providing accessible, preventive healthcare to individuals and families throughout Washington County. “My time is best spent in the service of others,” he says. “If I can help a few people at a time, I hope I can move the scale toward a healthier community.”
Continuing Dr. Kass’s Legacy
The Frederic H. Kass III, M.D. Endowed Scholarship Fund was established to honor one of Hospice of Washington County’s founding physicians, Dr. Frederic H. Kass III, whose vision helped establish the organization in 1980.
Created in 2005 and later endowed during Hospice of Washington County’s 30th anniversary, the scholarship supports students pursuing careers in healthcare, ensuring compassionate professionals continue serving the community for generations to come. In 2025, the scholarship expanded to include students attending the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine.
For Elvin, receiving the scholarship means more than financial assistance. “It will help me focus on my ultimate goal of becoming a skilled nurse and succeeding in my profession,” he shares. “Through financing my education, it’ll help me make the world a better place.”
His journey reflects the very purpose of the Kass Scholarship: investing in compassionate healthcare professionals whose dedication will strengthen the health of our community for years to come.
Help Shape the Future of Healthcare
The Frederic H. Kass III, M.D. Endowed Scholarship Fund invests in students who demonstrate compassion, service, and a commitment to improving healthcare in Washington County. Thanks to generous donors, future nurses, physicians, and other healthcare professionals can pursue their education while preparing to care for our community.
