Sharran Rouse, patient advocate

The Health Design Podcast

Passionate. Unique. Loyal. Resilient. These words are commonly used to describe Sharron S. Rouse. Sharron is an experienced leader with a demonstrated history of working in the education and nonprofit industries. She is skilled in program coordination, leadership, community outreach, and curriculum development. A native of the Washington, DC Metropolitan area, she has dedicated her life to influencing the world as a kidney disease, dialysis, and now transplant survivor. Sharron actively shares her story to bring hope and healing to anyone facing difficult circumstances in life. In 2022, she started SR Consulting Services LLC to provide support and guidance to educational and healthcare businesses and organizations. To expand the scope of her reach, Sharron founded Kindness for Kidneys International, Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to educating, encouraging, and empowering kidney warriors and their families. With the support of the community, Kindness for Kidneys has gained national attention for their monthly support groups, kidney education program, and annual holiday drives. Sharron remembers what it was like to be on dialysis during the holiday season, which is why Kindness for Kidneys serves over 500 kidney warriors and counting each year. Their annual Holiday Drive has been featured on local ABC and NBC news outlets. Sharron has been a guest speaker for several national and international educational and business-related conferences. She currently serves on the NIH/NIDDK Safety and Monitoring Board for the System Interventions to Achieve Early and Equitable Transplants (STEPS) study, Women of Color in Pharma – TRUST Advisory Board, Quality Insights ESRD Network 5 Patient Advisory Council, Bayer FINE-ONE Standing Patient Council, Health Union Patient Leadership Council, and the Vertex Patient Advisory Board. As an ambassador for the American Association of Kidneys Patients (AAKP) and the American Kidney Fund, she has participated in many patient panel discussions, served as a guest speaker, exhibitor, and Co-Chair for the 2019 and 2020 AAKP National Patient Meetings, was a peer mentor for dialysis warriors at Emory University Hospital, and has represented the state of Maryland for Capitol Hill advocacy days in Washington, DC. Sharron’s hard work and devotion to serving the community has granted her numerous awards including the Presidential Volunteer Service Award in 2020 and 2022, Who’s Who in American Education recognition, Honorable Mention for the Lyfebulb/CVS Kidney Care Innovation Challenge, the AAKP Support Group of the Year award, the Second Chance Show’s Prima award, and the 2023 Health Union Community Cultivator award. Sharron lives in Maryland with her husband Shawn and daughter Kyla. Website: www.kindnessforkidneys.org