Pediatric Nurse
Seattle Children’s Hospital
Seattle, Washington
Kayla Burt BSN, RN, CPN has been a pediatric nurse at Seattle Children's Hospital for nearly 10 years. Prior to this, she worked at a non-profit specializing in sudden cardiac arrest awareness and education, coached college basketball at the University of Portland, and served as an EMT for many years in King County.
Kayla is a 2006 graduate of the University of Washington where she earned a BA in Communications. She was also a starting guard and captain on the women's basketball team. Part way through her sophomore season, on New Year's Eve, Kayla was celebrating the New Year with her teammates when she suddenly and unexpectedly went into cardiac arrest.
Her teammates immediately recognized something was wrong and jumped into action to save her life. They each played a role in keeping her alive until the Seattle Fire Department Paramedics arrived and used a defibrillator to save her. It was the ultimate team effort from start to finish and Kayla is beyond grateful for a second chance at life.
Kayla retired from college basketball after her cardiac arrest but stayed with the team and continued her education. She had further testing done and no identifiable reason for her cardiac arrest was found (at the time). After sitting out from playing for nearly a year and a half; she returned to the basketball court with a defibrillator implanted in her chest. At the time, she was the only known Division I athlete to compete at that level with an implanted cardioverter defibrillator. She was widely recognized for this return to college athletics with a nomination for an ESPY award, receiving the Jimmy V comeback award, and the Wilma Rudolph for academic achievement award.
Kayla truly takes each day as it comes and loves the life she has created for herself. She is passionate about sudden cardiac arrest awareness/education, teaching CPR and how to locate/use an AED. She went back to school in 2015 and earned a BS in Nursing in 2016 from the University of Washington.
Kayla lives in Stanwood with her wife, Kristin, and two wonderful daughters, Rylee and Rowyn. She enjoys boating, camping, hanging out with her friends and family, travelling, attending sporting events, reading and doing legos.