Rose Anderson of Camillus House is awarded the Nurse Award presented by the Benjamin Leon School of Nursing at Miami Dade College
Rose Anderson, MSN, ARNP, a long-time nurse practitioner with Camillus House and Camillus Health, was recently honored for her achievements at the 21st Annual Health Care Heroes awards. The awards, which are presented by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, recognizes the work and dedication of physicians, nurses, researchers, institutions, volunteers, and others who have contributed to the health care delivery system and overall welfare of South Florida and its residents.
As a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse with Camillus House’s Project Lazarus, Rose has worked tirelessly to ensure that those from disenfranchised and often forgotten populations—the poor, homeless, orphans, undocumented immigrants, addicts, individuals living with HIV/AIDS—have access to quality and loving health care, regardless of their circumstances.
Her 38-year career, 35 of which were spent in Miami-Dade County, has included work in Kenya and Haiti, providing vital health care to orphans and adults living with HIV/AIDS. In her current role with Camillus’ Project Lazarus, she offers health care to the on-the-street homeless.
A typical day for Ms. Anderson and her team is walking the streets to work with a caseload of approximately 20 on-street homeless at any given time, making sure that the chronically ill take their medication, stabilize and eventually enter safe and permanent housing.
Not many would willingly trek throughout the streets of Miami searching for a patient who is mentally ill, but every day, Ms. Anderson provides health care and support to those suffering with dignity and grace, ensuring that all who receive services are treated with love, respect and compassion.
She has helped to rethink how the chronically homeless and mentally ill are served and treated, and has directly helped to rehabilitate and house more than 300 clients over the years.