Michelle L. Edwards, DNP, FACHE, FAANP currently serves as the first ever Chief Experience Officer at Providence St. Joseph Health which operates 51 hospitals and nearly 1100 clinics in seven states. In this role, she is responsible for ensuring a seamless, modernized, and differentiated consumer experience with augmented digitally-enabled access and navigation. This includes designing an enhanced end-to-end experience for patients and consumers while simultaneously simplifying care for the system’s 120,000 caregivers and 25,000 physicians.
Dr. Edwards previously served as the System Senior Vice President, Advanced Practice at Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), now CommonSpirit Health, which is the largest nonprofit health system in the United States by revenue. In her position at CommonSpirit, she developed the health system strategy for Advanced Practice Care across all clinical sites in all geographic areas for the 21-state enterprise. She was responsible for implementing innovative care models, improving care team performance, and integrating advanced practice providers throughout the organization.
Dr. Edwards, a family and acute care nurse practitioner by background, was appointed the first Advanced Practice executive leader in 2013. This was an inaugural role for CommonSpirit Health and a first for the U.S. health care sector. It has since led to the elevation of the Advanced Practice profession through the creation of similar roles at several large U.S. health care systems. Prior to assuming her role with CommonSpirit, she was the Founder and Managing Director of PICC Health Institute LLC, a novel, NP-led primary care center for which she received numerous awards.
As a former clinical operations leader with Walgreens, she directed a new market launch for one of the leading convenient care clinic operators in the country, resulting in the opening and growth of 12 retail health centers in the metropolitan area of Houston, TX. Dr. Edwards leverages a unique background as an experienced clinician and business leader to enhance service delivery in ways consumers want to receive it, allow better precision with predicting patient outcomes and ensure efficient use of limited human capital and financial resources.
Her extensive health care experience and progressive track record spans more than two decades in clinical practice, business and program development, public speaking, professional writing, and consulting. Her commitment to clinical excellence, enthusiasm for innovation, inclination to challenge the status quo, and unique ability to build strong, collaborative, interdisciplinary partnerships has earned her a reputation as a leader in the industry. In October 2018, she was featured as the Leader to Watch by the American Organization of Nursing Leadership (AONL), becoming the first Advanced Practice leader to grace the cover of the organization’s journal.
Dr. Edwards is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP). She earned her Bachelors and Masters degree from The University of Alabama family of organizations, and her Doctorate from The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.