Brookwood Baptist Medical Center’s Caroline Kirkner RN Honored as Healthcare Hero at Annual Taste of Teal Event
Mar 11, 2019 (Left to right) 2019 Healthcare Hero, Caroline Kirkner, and Brookwood Baptist Medical Center CNO, Amy Beard. |
The annual Taste of Teal event was held Saturday night to benefit the Laura Crandall Brown Foundation. The Foundation’s mission is to offer hope through early detection research of ovarian cancer, empower communities through gynecologic cancer awareness and enrich lives through support. The annual Taste of Teal benefit celebrates those who have volunteered their time and service to our community. These people have made the lives of gynecological cancer patients better with their hearts and talents. Among the four Legacy of Laura Honorees – including Corporate Honoree, Healthcare Honoree, Caregiver and Survivor - Brookwood Baptist Medical Center registered nurse, Caroline Kirkner, was named the 2019 Healthcare Hero.
Caroline cares deeply about every patient she meets. As a nurse in the Women’s Care Unit at Brookwood Baptist Medical Center, she goes above and beyond, providing compassionate care to gynecological cancer patients that extends beyond her professional commitment. She has also served on the Junior Board of the Laura Crandall Brown Foundation, helping to raise awareness of gynecological cancers and critical funds for the Foundation’s mission. Caroline is well known for her gracious and loving spirit and her focus on helping others.
Caroline has been an employee of Brookwood Baptist Medical Center since 2010. She started as a Nursing Assistant and once she finished Nursing School at Samford, she became an RN. She has worked on Women’s Care Unit/GYN Oncology her entire career. Caroline has been honored at Brookwood as Clinical Nurse of the Year for the care that she provides. She is currently a Charge Nurse on nightshift. Earning her nursing degree was Caroline’s second bachelor’s degree, and she considers it her true calling.
According to Brookwood Baptist Medical Center Chief Nursing Officer, Amy Beard, “Caroline’s dedication, compassion and character are undeniable, and she considers it an honor and privilege to care for these brave women in their time of need. Being honored as the 2019 Healthcare Hero is well deserved, and we are so very proud to have her as a part of our Brookwood family.”
About Brookwood Baptist Health
With roots extending more than 90 years, Brookwood Baptist Health includes trusted providers from the former Brookwood Medical Center and Baptist Health System and is operated by Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. Representing the largest healthcare network in Central Alabama, the network’s community of care is comprised of five acute care hospitals with more than 1,700 licensed beds: Brookwood Baptist Medical Center, Princeton Baptist Medical Center, Shelby Baptist Medical Center, Walker Baptist Medical Center and Citizens Baptist Medical Center. Brookwood Baptist Health also provides patients with the largest primary care network in the state, along with physician practices, diagnostic and outpatient surgery centers and a freestanding emergency department. Brookwood Baptist Health is united in service and devotion to the people of Central Alabama and dedicated to putting people back at the center of healthcare. For more information, please visit www.BrookwoodBaptistHealth.com.
About the Laura Crandall Brown Foundation
In 2009, Laura Crandall Brown passed away at the age of 25 from ovarian cancer. Laura constantly expressed her desire to be able to help others who might face her same battle, and her loving and courageous spirit inspired her friends and family to create the Laura Crandall Brown Ovarian Cancer Foundation to honor her life, memory and vision of helping others. The foundation's mission was to provide funding for early detection research of ovarian cancer and to raise awareness about the disease. In 2015, the foundation's board of directors felt led to increase its mission impact by adding a patient support program and expanding the organization's focus on awareness to include all gynecologic cancers. Today, the Laura Crandall Brown Foundation works to fulfill this threefold mission: offering hope through early detection research of ovarian cancer, empowering communities through gynecologic cancer awareness and enriching lives through support. For more information, visit www.thinkoflaura.org.
