Michelle L. Edwards DNP, APRN FACHE, FAANP
Michelle L. Edwards, DNP, APRN, FNP, ACNP, FAANP is the National Vice President for Advanced Practice at Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), one of the nation’s largest health systems with several hundred sites of care across 18 states and more than 4500 employed providers, including over 1900 nurse practitioners and other advanced practice providers. Recruited to join CHI’s executive team in 2013, Dr. Edwards became the first nurse practitioner in the country to provide executive level, enterprise-wide leadership for strategic optimization of advanced practice roles and implementation of innovative team-based clinical care models for a health system of this scale.
Dr. Edwards transitioned to CHI from PICC Health Institute LLC where she was the Founder and Managing Director of an innovative, nurse practitioner-led primary care center for which she received numerous awards and recognitions. She is a former clinical operations leader with Walgreens clinics where she directed the 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.
As a visionary healthcare executive, her leadership philosophy is sharply focused on executing sustainable and financially responsible initiatives to design and deliver new care delivery systems across the U.S. 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.
Dr. Edwards is a dual board certified Family and Acute Care Nurse Practitioner with extensive health care experience and a progressive track record spanning 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.
Dr. Edwards is a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP) and serves on the Board of the American Nurse Practitioner Foundation. She earned her Bachelors degree in Nursing from The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, her Masters degree from The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), and her Doctorate from The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.