Remember Karen Elean Garcia Rodriguez

It is with a heavy heart that we deliver the news that our beloved NAHN Phoenix member Karen Garcia-Rodriguez Mowzoon died on Sunday, July 10th, 2022. She is survived by her loving husband Mazzi and two beautiful children Donovan 10 and Natalia 5. Many of us had the privilege of knowing Karen and witnessed the passion she held for our community. She gave of her whole heart and gave often. While we acknowledge the need to mourn her loss, we also wish to recognize her impact on this world. Here is a small part of her story. What's something exciting your business offers? Say it here.

Karen started her journey with NAHN as a nursing student in 2017. She graduated from the Bilingual Nurse Fellowship Program at Gateway Community College and was pursuing her Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree at ASU with a scheduled graduation date of August 2022. Upon completing the nursing program, Karen immediately jumped into her role as a nurse. Her passion for serving our Spanish speaking and underserved communities was clear from the start. She began her career working at a nonprofit organization in the heart of Phoenix. Karen worked on a burn unit at Valleywise Hospital where her ability to communicate with the many Spanish speaking patients was utilized heavily. These patients were often critically ill but she made it her mission to advocate for each and every one of them as if they were her own family because in truth, they were.

Karen continued to advance her practice by becoming a Solid Organ Transplant Nurse at Mayo Clinic Hospital. She routinely took the time to create customized educational materials for her Spanish speaking patients who were receiving a new kidney or liver. She worked tirelessly to guarantee every patient understood their care and had the resources they needed to be successful. If you ever had the privilege of working as a bedside nurse with Karen, you know she never sat down and she never took a break. She was steadfast. She was earnest. She never shied away from

a challenge. This was clear when she later went on to pursue travel nursing. She worked in crisis zones and rural hospitals where resources were limited but that was our Karen, up for the challenge.

Karen was instrumental to the National Association of Hispanic Nurses- Phoenix, AZ chapter. Karen has always been passionate about NAHN and helping the community as she became a board member as soon as she graduated nursing school. She served as our membership chair and was invaluable to our Community Outreach Committee as she was a mentor to many student nurses. During her time with NAHN, Karen pioneered our NAHN Tiendita and fundraised often for our scholarships. Karen earned the Outstanding Student of the Year Award in 2020 and Outstanding Member of the Year Award in 2021. As a Dreamer, Karen devoted her spare time to advocating and being an activist for the immigrant community, helping many dreamers with the application process for nursing school. Karen loved NAHN and all of her NAHN familia. She loved to volunteer and help those in need. We will miss our Karensita very much and we find comfort in knowing that she was loved by so many people.

We recognize that this loss is immeasurable and greatly affects her family, friends, and community. We are heartbroken over the loss of both Karen and her soon-to- be born baby girl in this senseless tragedy. Every hour, one life is lost needlessly to drunk driving. We ask that if you

plan on drinking, do not get behind the wheel and drive. Please find a safe ride home.