Her Story
About Kina
Kina Lucombe is a registered nurse with 23 years of experience who holds a master's degree in nursing. An Air Force veteran, she began her medical career as an EKG tech and later specialized in telemetry nursing, both focused on cardiovascular care. She is the founder and executive director of Heart to Valor, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment through free community screenings for heart and kidney issues, diabetes education in partnership with BayCare Hospital, and CPR certification training. Lucombe is also a certified case manager (CCM) and a member of the American Nurses Association, from which she received a Community Icon Award. Her personal experience as a heart patient in 2019 inspired the creation of her organization, and she emphasizes values of transparency and making connections to address community needs.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kina
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think being able to make the right connections, being able to see a need and address it, and being able to inspire others to join on to it as an organization.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say trust yourself. Trust your gut.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The opportunities for my particular nonprofit is just being able to come across a lot of people going to different communities and be instrumental with getting the diagnosis. And then for those that don't have any cardiac issues, just being able to teach prevention. The challenge would be oftentimes funding, because the services that we give we don't charge, it's a free community service. So needing equipment, supplies, and resources to keep that going.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Transparency. When I had my cardiac issue because of my age at the time, I didn't want to share that I had a pacemaker. I didn't want anyone to know just simply because I didn't want to be judged or appear vulnerable. My biggest lesson from that is just being open and transparent and being able to touch so many lives just by telling my story and being honest about it.
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