On December 5th, 2024, Concierge Health International presented its inaugural Visionary of Medical Education Award to Jackie Rowles, DNP,
MBA, MA, CRNA, ANP-BC, NSPM-C, FNAP, FAANA, FAAN. Rowles is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice and the Director of Advanced
Pain Management Fellowship in Harris College’s School of Nurse Anesthesia. This award recognized and honored her remarkable work with the global nurse anesthesia
charity she founded, Our Hearts Your Hands, Inc (OHYH).
Rowles founded OHYH in 2016 to help bridge the gap in global anesthesia with scholarships to educate and mobilize nurse anesthetists in low-income countries. Research has shown that there are five billion people in the world without access to emergency and essential surgical care. Since 2017, OHYH has awarded 21 scholarships in nine African countries in support of nurse anesthesia education.
"I founded Our Hearts Your Hands because I was contacted by several African nurses who wanted to be educated as nurse anesthetists but had no financial support to attend an academic program," Rowles said. "My thought was that even if we are only able to educate one nurse anesthetist each year, we will be able to change the life of that nurse as well as many lives within their community. This award truly belongs to the OHYH Board of Directors and to everyone who has donated to our cause.”
OHYH isn’t Rowles’ only contribution in the effort to expand the nurse anesthesia workforce. She currently serves as the vice-chair of the Content Committee for the United Nations Global Surgery Learning Hub, which provides free online educational content for members of the peri-operative team and is serving her sixth term as the president of the International Federation of Nurse Anesthetists (IFNA). Additionally, Rowles was recently selected to serve as co-chair of the International Council of Nurses Advanced Practice Nursing Network’s Health Policy Committee.