Kelly Rose is an acute care nurse practitioner specializing in cardiac surgery and neurosurgery who has volunteered with Cardiostart since 2019 in countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, and Egypt. She was inspired to join her first mission by her mother’s example of unwavering kindness and the volunteerism of her friend, mentor, and fellow ICU nurse Ann Clancy. The vision of Cardiostart to build sustainable open heart surgery programs in low resource countries, ensuring children and adults have access to life saving cardiac care, aligned with her own values and she has participated in several missions per year since. She is passionate about optimizing team dynamics, fostering deep human connection, and demonstrating authentic leadership to illuminate the strengths of individual volunteers in order to create stronger and more aligned teams. The volunteers she works with always look forward to receiving matching surgical scrub caps, which her mom hand sews for every mission. Kelly loves leading yoga and meditation sessions for volunteers on missions, organizing team building activities, befriending and empowering local medical staff, and learning the local culture and language through the eyes of the patients and their loved ones. Her experience volunteering with Cardiostart has shaped her into an innovative and resourceful Nurse Practitioner who can think outside the box to overcome challenges and continues to see each patient not as a diagnosis, but as a whole human being shaped by story, culture, and hope. Her other humanitarian endeavors include providing health care for the unaccompanied minors of the border, working as an unpaid volunteer at Brookdale Hospital in NYC during the COVID pandemic, and running and staffing Night Strike Medical Tent, a free pop up clinic for the homeless and vulnerable populations in Portland Oregon. She spends her time fiercely loving those around her, living a vibrant adventurous life with purpose and gratitude.
