Edie Wade Promoted to Chief Nursing Officer
Edie Wade hopes Registered Nurses think of her as their most strident champion.
Gritman Medical Center’s newest Chief Nursing Officer, Wade sees her role as one of empowerment – as an advocate and facilitator to ensure that the dedicated nursing staff across the organization get the support they need when providing exceptional patient care.
“I think it’s really respecting that our frontline staff are the experts in care delivery and leaning in to best support them in their ability to take amazing care of patients,” she said.
Empowerment can mean advocacy, it can mean guidance, and it can mean respect for the work happening in each patient room to heal and care for members of the community.
“I believe that nurses best understand quality of care delivery in a 24/7 nursing care environment and have a powerful voice in driving care delivery here at Gritman,” she said. “By leaning into our workforce for their subject matter expertise, we will continue to raise the bar on clinical care delivery for our patients, today and well into the future.”
The Chief Nursing Officer serves as the most senior Registered Nurse within the organization and as the voice of nursing staff throughout the Gritman System. Wade takes over the position following the retirement of Mari Timlin, and most recently served as Director of Operations over Gritman’s Specialty Clinics. She has many years of experience as a frontline nurse in a variety of clinical settings, including in Intensive Care Units, Post-Anesthesia Care Units and as a Nurse Navigator.
“My first job was in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at a large teaching hospital,” she said. “That was very formative for me as a nurse to understand the impact of nursing care and 24/7 observations of clinical trends, and how that has a dramatic effect on patients and their lives.”
Wade initially pursued a nursing degree as her interest in math and science grew. She enjoys how the career combines those fields of study with empathy to provide exceptional care at the bedside. Providing compassionate nursing support in key moments, she said, is a privilege.
“Nursing presents never-ending opportunities to just be there for people,” she said.
An upbeat and cheerful member of the Gritman Family, Wade aims to foster an environment of support, respect, and accountability for both caregivers and the people they support. She sees her role as a link between ambulatory nurses, hospital nurses, providers and staff to ensure patients get the best possible care for their specific situation.
“A Chief Nursing Officer should be the facilitator to bring all of those things together,” she said. “To my core, I am someone that likes to bring those groups together on behalf of the mission of care delivery to our patients.”
Gritman’s culture is what initially drew Wade to the organization in 2021. That culture – mission-driven, collaborative and with a community-based Board of Directors – means leaning into every decision with the health of the patient at the forefront.
“I love the organization and the mission here,” she said. “And I’m proud of our team. I come in every day working to understand how I can best offer support so that we are better every day than the day before.”
In the end, Wade wants nurses, patients and providers at Gritman to know she is accessible and here to serve in the mission of extraordinary care.
“It’s amazing to see and be a part of,” she said. “We have an incredible workforce, culture and group of people here to support our patients.”’
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