August 2nd, 2023
Kelsey Brooks, Mission Champion of the Month August 2023
Kelsey Brooks, BSN, RN, PCCN, CNML, joined St. Joseph Hospital in 2016 as a Registered Nurse. She shared her skills with our patients on 3 South. Kelsey is a third generation nurse; her grandmother was a nurse, and her mother is currently a nurse on the St. Joseph Hospital Care Coordination team, which is the reason why Kelsey chose to be a nurse at St. Joseph Hospital.
With hard work and dedication, Kelsey has advanced her career, earning the title of charge nurse. After two years of working at St. Joseph Hospital, Kelsey moved to Virginia with her boyfriend Ray, who was stationed there in the U.S. Navy. She continued her nursing career while in Virginia, advancing to the role of Clinical Nurse Manager of a Progressive Care Unit. But in 2022, Kelsey and Ray decided to move back to New Hampshire.
At the time, she was looking for a job. The role of Clinical Nurse Manager on 3 North (which was newly transitioned to a Progressive Care Unit) was an available position at St. Joseph Hospital. We were fortunate that timing worked out – and Kelsey was welcomed back to St. Joseph Hospital with open arms. When talking talking to Kelsey, she said that it felt like it was meant to be when she saw that available position. She was thrilled to return to St. Joseph Hospital, and reconnect with the team she had worked with before, and help them grow as the new Progressive Care Unit.
Kelsey’s most memorable moments while working at St. Joseph Hospital are all tied back to the team that she works with each day on the Progressive Care Unit. She says that it feels like she is working with her family. When she had initially returned in 2022, seeing so many familiar faces around, made the transition back to New Hampshire that much easier. She truly enjoys being a Clinical Nurse Manager, which gives her the ability to support everyone she works with. Kelsey said that the best aspect of her team, is that she can always count on them to rally around one another to help – in good times and bad times, all while supporting their patients daily. Kelsey and her now husband, Ray, are expecting their first child later this month. Recently, her team threw her a surprise baby shower to help celebrate the upcoming arrival of her baby girl. Kelsey was completely taken off guard when she walked into the staff lounge, and felt truly blessed that her team took the time to make the surprise party happen.
Kelsey never imagined that she would become the manager of a department, but she is extremely happy with the career path that she has chosen. One of her favorite aspects of her position is that she gets to be the voice of her team, knowing that she hears their ideas and does the best to act on them. Supporting her staff and patients is one of the best rewards from Kelsey’s work.
Caitlyn Givens, Clinical Resource Nurse, says, “Kelsey has been an amazing new leader to our 3 North team. Ever since she started, we have been able to see an immerse improvement in the satisfaction of not only our staff, but the care that we provide to our patients. Kelsey is key in communicating and staying involved with the unit. She is always celebrating achievements of the staff, whether it’s years of service, birthdays, or employee of the month. She is constantly going above and beyond to ensure staff feel special and recognized – and working alongside Kelsey has been an amazing experience. She has really turned this unit around into not only a team full of dedicated and motivated staff, but we truly have become such a family.”
When Kelsey is not working at St. Joseph Hospital, she can be found spending time with her family and friends. She enjoys spending time outdoors at a pool, or at the beaches in Gloucester. She is very excited for her new adventure in becoming a mother and spending plenty of time with her newborn baby.
Congratulations, Kelsey!