Dr. Michelle L. Edwards, FACHE, FAANP

CHIEF EXPERIENCE OFFICER

PROVIDENCE ST. JOSEPH HEALTH

RENTON, WA

Dr. Michelle L. Edwards serves as the first-ever Chief Experience Officer at Providence St. Joseph Health that operates 51 hospitals and nearly 1100 clinics in seven states. In this role, Dr. Edwards is responsible for ensuring a seamless, modernized and differentiated consumer experience with augmented digitally-enabled access and navigation. She previously served as the System Senior Vice President, Advanced Practice at Catholic Health Initiatives, now CommonSpirit Health, where she developed the health system strategy for Advanced Practice Care across all clinical sites in all geographic areas for the 21-state enterprise.

A family and acute care nurse practitioner by background, Dr. Edwards was appointed in 2013 as the first Advanced Practice executive leader. This was an inaugural role for CommonSpirit Health and a first for the U.S. health care sector. Earlier in her career, 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; and a clinical operations leader with Walgreens.

Dr. Edwards 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 Nurse Executives (AONE), becoming the first Advanced Practice leader to grace the cover of the organization’s journal. In 2019, she earned a coveted position as an ACHE Dolan Executive Diversity Program Scholar.

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 Bachelor’s in nursing from The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, her Master’s from The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), and her Doctorate from The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.