Karen Krus, RN has a long history of serving the community through nursing, something she wanted to keep up after she retired five years ago. This led her to the Visiting Nurse Association of Greater St. Louis (VNA), where she serves as a vaccination nurse and continues to keep the community safe.
Karen moved to St. Louis in 1977 to attend Lutheran School of Nursing. She graduated in three years and decided to stay in the city, taking a job at Alexian Brothers Hospital. At Alexian, she spent six years in intensive care before transferring to cardiac rehab, a focus she’d maintain for 30 years.
She liked working in cardiac rehab because she regularly witnessed the courage and strength of patients in recovery after heart attacks. She was always eager to help and focused on educating them to pursue better, healthier lifestyles.
After retiring, Karen reconnected with a coworker from when she first started nursing who was working for VNA doing vaccinations, and she suggested that Karen join the team. Karen was attracted to the flexibility of the job, but she also looked forward to continuing the education piece of her time in cardiac rehab through VNA’s wellness clinics.
At VNA, her typical responsibilities include communicating with other staff members along with clients to set up the logistics of when to show up and what supplies she needs to pick up and bring with her. Her favorite part is meeting a wide range of people.
“Being able to go out and meet a lot of different people from different backgrounds is great,” says Karen. “Being able to hear their stories when they’re there and visit so many different places in St. Louis is eye-opening.
Karen is proud to be a part of the VNA team and is excited to keep serving the St. Louis community. “VNA’s mission excites me because they serve and promote health to everyone, no matter who they are.”
VNA is excited to have Karen on board and can’t wait to see how she continues to serve the diverse populations she cares about so much.
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