Somerset Health Care Foundation, the fundraising arm for Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Somerset, recently welcomed two new members to its Board of Trustees: Rachana Kulkarni, MD, of Skillman, and Ellen Nardoni of Somerville.
Dr. Kulkarni is a board-certified cardiologist with Medicor, an affiliated medical practice of RWJBarnabas Health, practicing at RWJUH Somerset where she previously served as chief of Cardiology, chair of the Department of Medicine and a member of the hospital’s Medical Executive Committee. She is director of Community Cardiology and Preventative Health for RWJBarnabas Health’s Southern Region and a physician leader with the RWJBarnabas Health Women’s Heart Health Collaborative.
A graduate of Government Medical College in Nagpur, India, she completed her fellowship in cardiology and her residency in internal medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Dr. Kulkarni is passionate about promoting awareness of women and heart disease and has authored publications and lectured nationally on this topic over the past three decades. She is past president of the American Heart Association of New Jersey SC, co-chair of the New Jersey American College of Cardiology’s Women in Cardiology Chapter and serves on the board of directors for the American Heart Association. She was recently honored by the American Heart Association of New Jersey at its annual Heart Ball with its Physician of the Year Award.
Nardoni is a member of the executive team for Clinton Honda, Land Rover Princeton, the Somerset Patriots and all Kalafer Enterprises. She previously worked for nearly 30 years at Flemington Car and Truck Country Family of Dealerships as executive assistant to Steve Kalafer, founder and chairman; customer and community relations manager; and founder and coordinator of the Hunterdon County Polytech CARS School to Work Program.
She is the founding trustee of the Paul R. Nardoni Foundation, a non-profit organization that has been supporting cancer patients and their families for the past 20 years. The Foundation merged with Somerset Health Care Foundation in 2022.
Nardoni has also served as a member of the Gill St. Bernard’s School Board of Trustees and the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce.
“Both Ellen and Dr. Kulkarni have deep ties with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset and within our community, along with vast expertise in business and health care,” said Paul Hubert, chair of the Somerset Health Care Foundation Board of Trustees. “We are excited to welcome them to our Board of Trustees and look forward to working with them to continue to build support for our hospital.”
Somerset Health Care Foundation is a non-profit organization created to solicit and administer charitable funding on behalf of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset. Gifts to Somerset Health Care Foundation help enhance the hospital’s facilities, technologies and patient care to improve the health of its community.
For more information about Somerset Health Care Foundation, visit
www.rwjbh.org/somersetgiving or call 908-685-2885.
