Navy Medicine recently announced the recognition of five outstanding hospital corpsmen, awarding them the esteemed Danyelle Luckey Sacred Trust Award. This honor celebrates their unwavering commitment to patient-centered care and exceptional patient advocacy across the military health system. One of the recipients is Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Jacksonville’s own, Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Steward Cotui Mercedes.
Cotui Mercedes, a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, is currently assigned to Naval Branch Health Clinic Mayport and serves in the Immunizations and Pediatrics department.
“I assist the lead petty officer, Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Brian Persina to serve as leadership over the junior Sailors of the department,” Cotui Mercedes said. “I help create schedules for the corpsmen, helped with manning issues, patient care, training and front desk help.
Cotui Mercedes has served in the Navy for eight years, and his last duty has him serving as the “Baby Doc” onboard the USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) for three years.
“It was a great experience, and I learned a lot,” he said. “It was a stressful environment but at the same time very rewarding. I connected well with the crew, and we were like family.”
One of the many reasons Cotui Mercedes was nominated for the award is that he recognized an undocumented allergic reaction in an active-duty patient. Despite the patient being in a rush, he gave detailed instructions and the need for safety protocols when receiving a vaccine. The patient received information on how to get allergy testing and kept the patient safe, while updating her records.
According to his leaders, “HM2 Cotui Mercedes earned the FY-25 Danyelle Luckey Sacred Trust Award through exceptional leadership, unwavering dedication to patient safety, and a steadfast commitment to mission readiness. As the Immunization Department Work Center Supervisor, he led a multidisciplinary team that provided care to more than 9,000 beneficiaries, completed 4,600 pediatric patient encounters, and administered more than 5,100 immunizations.”
Cotui Mercedes joined the Navy already having a bachelor’s degree in social work from City University of New York, which he said has come in handy while performing his duties in the military.
“It was a great base for me to see how the industry is working with patients and an understating of health insurance portability and accountability (HIPAA) and privacy laws,” he said.
His future goals include becoming a naval officer in the Nurse Corps, and he is currently working on a packet for the Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program. Cotui Mercedes has been accepted to University of North Florida Nursing Program while still eyeing two other state universities. Upon notification of the Danyelle Luckey Sacred Trust Award, he was humbled and shocked.
“I am very surprised to win the award, and I don’t like the spotlight. I am very honored, this award is not only for me, but for the whole team to include the corpsmen, the civilians, and the great leaders,” Cotui Mercedes said. “This is a great compliment to the clinic itself.”
Established in 2022, the Danyelle Luckey Sacred Trust Award commemorates Personnel Specialist Seaman Danyelle Luckey, who served aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) until her tragic death in October 2016. Navy Medicine honors her life and service through the actions of corpsmen who embody the Navy’s core values of honor, courage and commitment while delivering care with compassion and vigilance.
The NAVADMIN released by Acting Surgeon General Rear Adm. Rick Freedman stated, “This award recognizes hospital corpsmen who epitomize the Navy core values, excel in ability, skills, judgement, and demonstrate absolute dedication to a patient-centered approach to healthcare leading to overwhelmingly positive outcomes for their patients.”
The Navy Hospital Corps is comprised of more than 26,000 active duty and reserve hospital corpsmen that are practicing or training in 40 technical specialties. Hospital corpsmen are enlisted medical Sailors who serve on the frontlines with our operators – whether embedded in Marine units, serving at military treatment facilities, or aboard submarines and surface ships as Independent Duty Corpsmen.
| Date Taken: |
06.23.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
06.23.2026 14:34 |
| Story ID: |
568405 |
| Location: |
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, US |
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18 |
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