Siblings Who Save Lives
A UF Health Jacksonville emergency nurse started her career in health care after seeing her brother in action.
Most health care professionals can describe why they chose their career, whether it’s a desire to care for the community, interest in science or family connection to medicine. For Andrea Koller and her brother, Brian Brown, their passion for health care runs deep and has only gotten stronger over the past 20 years.
Finding their calling
Koller, an emergency medicine charge nurse at UF Health Jacksonville, can vividly recall when she was inspired to go into patient care. More than 20 years ago, she was working as a surgical technician. Her role offered limited, if any, interaction with patients, and she just didn’t feel like the job was the right fit for her.
Koller had always been very close with Brown, who is a firefighter and paramedic for Baker County. He initially started a career in insurance after college, similar to what their parents did. However, his heart wasn’t in it. Brown was always interested in medicine, ever since he was transported in an ambulance at 15 years old after breaking his leg playing baseball. He remembered how the first responders who transported him to the emergency room were cautious yet swift, ensuring he could receive care as quickly as possible.
While Brown was still working in the insurance field, a friend who worked in the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department encouraged him to work toward becoming an EMT. While in school, Brown was a wheelchair driver for a private ambulance company. One evening in 2000, Koller was able to join her brother on an ambulance call. She observed how he helped others and carefully transported patients, and she was fascinated. She then decided to follow in his footsteps and become an EMT herself.
Both Koller and Brown furthered their education and careers, with Koller eventually becoming a nurse and Brown becoming a paramedic. Koller began her journey at UF Health as an emergency room nurse in October 2012. When UF Health North opened in 2017, Brian served as the intra-campus critical care paramedic, so he was able to work more closely and frequently with his sister.
UF Health Jacksonville registered nurse Andrea Koller and her brother, Brian Brown, a paramedic and firefighter.
Working together to save lives
The siblings’ roots in Jacksonville, paired with their health care expertise, have helped them provide the best patient care possible. Brown knows the area well, and his history at UF Health opened his eyes to the fantastic care from TraumaOne specialists.
“It’s great knowing the staff in trauma and the emergency room,” said Brown. “Though we always transport patients to the nearest hospital, UF Health is usually my go-to, since 99% of the time we are transporting trauma patients.”
When Brown is transporting patients to UF Health Jacksonville, he calls and alerts Koller that there will be an incoming trauma patient. They are able to easily communicate and coordinate to ensure patients are taken in safely and cared for quickly.
Expanding care outside the community
Besides saving lives in Jacksonville and surrounding areas, Brown and Koller are passionate about serving others who don’t have easy access to care. Brown has participated in multiple medical mission trips, and Koller joined him in 2019 on a trip to El Salvador.
“It’s a life-changing experience,” said Koller. “Just seeing other people in another country and the medical care they don’t have that we do is eye-opening and humbling.”
Along with a team of pharmacists, paramedics, and a nurse practitioner, physician assistant and physician, Koller and Brown set up a mobile medical clinic, during which they dispersed medications, screened patients for health issues and referred them to a physician assistant or physician for additional treatment as needed.
Koller and Brown look forward to going on mission trips in the future and continuing to provide care to those who need it.
A meaningful career at any age
Koller and Brown stress that anyone interested in working in health care can do so at any age and to stay fearless and honest.
“Go for it — go all in,” said Koller. “You’re never too old to do anything. If [health care] is what you really want to do, do it.”
Koller is truly passionate about working in an academic health center, as it allows her to learn from other nurses, residents and physicians. She also appreciates how everyone works together so easily, no matter their title or responsibilities.
For Brown, being in medicine for 21 years has allowed him to see patients recover after experiencing trauma. He remembers one instance, during which he loaded a 17-year-old patient into an ambulance after the teen experienced cardiac arrest. The teen was a star swimmer and tennis player for a local high school. It was tough for Brown to see such a young and seemingly healthy person in an emergency situation, but thankfully, the teen recovered and is doing fine.
“Being able to see the after-effect, the patient who can walk away and live after experiencing an emergency, is the most rewarding part of my job,” said Brown.
Brown’s advice, along with not being afraid to change your career, is to own your mistakes and grow from them. He encourages those interested in health care to do things in confidence and not arrogance, and grow from constructive criticism.
UF Health Jacksonville stands ready to handle emergencies 24/7 with highly qualified, board-certified emergency medicine physicians and experienced, compassionate nurses and staff.
