Much like how our city’s major hospitals and educational facilities are nestled in the heart of Omaha on the map, they’re also nestled in the metaphorical heart of CRNA Melissa Kenney. Over the past 24 years, various mid-town Omaha institutions have helped shape Kenney’s life to include higher education, a rewarding career, family and lifelong friendships.
She started at the Clarkson Hospital kidney center in 1996 as a secretary while attending a pre-nursing program at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She later promoted to an operations manager in the critical care division where she managed the business side of nursing. After nine years in that role, Kenney transitioned to a care technician job to gain clinical experience at night, and pursued a Bachelor’s of Science in nursing from Clarkson College during the day.
“I took a non-traditional path to becoming a nurse, but I always knew I wanted to be one,” Kenney said. “I was 36 when graduated with my BSN.”
With that dream realized, Kenney became a nurse in the intensive care unit where many of her colleagues left over the years to become CRNAs. Six years later and after a shadowing experience with Director of Nurse Anesthesia Tim Glidden, Kenney felt a calling to her next pursuit of higher education. She put her 18-year healthcare career on hold to return to Clarkson College and earn a Master’s of Science in nurse anesthesia. She joined UNMC’s Department of Anesthesiology in June 2017.
“When I get to work in the morning, there’s a good feeling that comes over me knowing that I’m going to get to help someone, and that there will be some type of challenge that I get to face,” Kenney said. “There’s always something to learn every day.”
Kenney also enjoys the relationships she’s made on campus over the past two decades. In fact, Kenney met her husband, Bryan, on campus when she worked as an operations manager. Bryan also still works on campus, now as a business manager overseeing operating rooms. The couple has two daughters, 10-year-old Charlotte, and 7-year-old Julia.
“Melissa has had a big impact on campus over the course of her career,” said Glidden. “She has the perspective of both a former Clarkson College student and a current Nebraska Medicine CRNA, and I think the guidance she provides is very valuable for our trainees.”
CRNA Spotlight: Melissa Kenney
