Alaskan Pediatrician Dies While Scuba Diving Off Florida Keys

A 57-year-old Alaskan pediatrician died while scuba diving off the Florida Keys Friday.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said Dr. Kimberly Jean Kilgore of Juneau died while diving with a group off Islamorada. Deputies said Kilgore was in about 45 feet of water when she began having trouble and lost consciousness on the surface.

The diving boat’s crew began CPR and paramedics were summoned, but she was pronounced dead at the hospital.

 

No foul play is suspected. An autopsy report is pending.

Dr. Kimberly J. Kilgore (Rehder) was affiliated with Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau, Alaska. She received her medical degree from LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport, Louisiana. She did her Pediatric Medicine Residency at Shands Teaching Hospital/University of Florida Department of Pediatrics in Gainesville.

Kimberly Jean Kilgore

Bartlett Regional Hospital workers are required to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The hospital’s board of directors voted 7-0 in August 2021 for an employee vaccine mandate.