Michelle Twomey

Manager of progressive care unit and respiratory therapy

Kadlec Regional Medical Center

Age: 40

Current city of residence: Kennewick

Briefly describe your company:

Kadlec is a 337-bed level II trauma regional referral center in Richland. It is a not-for-profit health system that services the Tri-Cities and surrounding region of southeast Washington state. Kadlec is a partner organization of the Providence St. Joseph Health family.

When Kadlec opened its doors in 1944, the hospital was established to care for the Hanford area workers and their families. Since then, we have grown to a regional medical center providing care for the people throughout the Mid-Columbia region.

We are the second largest employer in the region with over 3,000 employees.

How long have you worked there?

5 years

Education: Please list any degrees and professional certifications.

• Master of Science in Nursing Administration, Grand Canyon University.
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing, University of Missouri.
• Nurse Executive-Board Certified (NE-BC), American Nurses Credentialing Center.
• Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN), American Association of Critical Care Nurses.

Briefly describe your job and what you do.

Nurse leader with 10 years of progressive leadership experience and oversight of both people and programs in multidisciplinary departments (progressive care unit and respiratory therapy). I work to leverage my clinical nursing, health care administration knowledge and leadership skills to provide oversight and lead high-functioning teams that deliver quality patient care and serve some of most critically ill patients in the Tri-Cities community.

Tell us about your work history.

I originally started college as prelaw. However, my grandmother was hospitalized for open heart surgery, and I was intrigued by the work of the intensive care unit nurses she was under the care of. I always felt a calling to help people and thus changed my career path to nursing after that experience.

I began my health care career as a certified nursing assistant and then a licensed practical nurse as I worked through nursing school to achieve my bachelor’s degree. When I graduated as a registered nurse, my first professional job was sought out in the cardiovascular intensive care unit at the University of Missouri, a very large, tertiary care hospital. I was excited to work in the nursing specialty I was first exposed to with my grandmother’s experience.

I relocated a few times but maintained my nursing clinical career within the critical care specialty. I eventually ended up moving back home to the Tri-Cities in 2015.

I didn’t initially plan for my nursing career to evolve into health care administration, but I am grateful it has. I transitioned from the clinical side of nursing to the health care leadership role in 2016. Over the last nearly 10 years I have had the opportunity to lead multiple amazing teams of health care providers at two hospitals here in the Tri-Cities and also help navigate them through a global pandemic.

I will always be an intensive care nurse at my core: I thrive on assessing and troubleshooting the most critical of situations swiftly and accurately. My career has evolved to take those same attributes and apply them in a leadership capacity to improve health care processes and patient health outcomes on a much broader scope.

Tell us about your first job.

I waited tables at the original Country Gentleman restaurant in Kennewick while in high school. Interestingly enough, many of those who go on to careers in health care and nursing have held previous positions in the customer service industry.

What advice would you give to your younger self about achieving success?

To find your “why” and your passion in life. Your “why” is your purpose, the reason you get out of bed in the morning. It’s not what you do or your job title, or how you do it, but WHY you do it every day – your underlying passion and values.

Identifying your “why” and the core reason behind your actions and aspirations is life changing; it gives you clarity, fuels your motivation and helps you align your life with what truly matters to you.

Success is often thought to be measured by attaining set milestones and goals in our life. However, if we can identify what fuels our passion in life, our “why” and recognize “success” is not a specific goal but continuous process to share our passion and “why” with the world – it is then we can look back and reflect on a truly successful life.

What was your dream job as a child?

In kindergarten I told everyone in class I wanted to be, “the first woman U.S. president.” Perhaps I can still find my way to achieve that dream.

Who are your role models – and why?

My parents. My mother never had the opportunity to go to college, and it was important to her that I would be afforded that. She has been my biggest advocate to follow my professional dreams. My father balanced his career as a nuclear engineer and manager with being a very engaged, loving dad to both my brother and me. I learned you can be both a professional and involved, loving parent from him.

What would be your top three priorities to make our community a better place?

I am passionate about creating local higher education opportunities and development of our future Tri-Cities workforce; this is why I currently serve on the Columbia Basin College Foundation Board of Directors and am active on the Funds Development Committee. I chose to spend what little free time I have with this organization because of the amazing scholarship work of the foundation.

On this same note, I have made great efforts around increasing exposure of local high students to careers in health care. It is so important we have future generations to care for the health of our community. I have organized outreach events for careers in respiratory therapy with local schools and engaged my team in job shadow experiences for students interested in pursuit of future health care careers.

Additionally, I believe our children are so important in shaping the future of our Tri-Cities community. I take time to volunteer at my children’s school annual events (jog-a-thon and spring field day, etc.) and serve as “team mom” when I have the opportunity; it is so important to support children’s success as early as we can.

What else should we know about you?

Even on my most stressful days at work, I love what I do because it holds the ability to positively impact our Tri-Cities community by improving their health outcomes.

How do you achieve work-life balance?

I do believe you have to take care of yourself before you show up for others, at work or in any capacity in life. I wake up every morning at 0500 to prioritize time to myself to journal and exercise before I look at emails or my busy schedule for the workday ahead.

Do you have family? Pets? Tell us about them.

I am a mother of two boys, ages 9 and 10. They are my world and motivation to be a role model for. My parents still live here in the Tri-Cities, only a few blocks away from my own home and are a big part of our lives; we see them nearly every day. I have one brother, who is married to one of my fellow nurse leader colleagues at Kadlec, and she is truly the sister I always wanted.

What’s your dream vacation?

Europe; I have never been.

Planner or procrastinator?

Planner

Introvert or extrovert?

Extrovert

First car?

Honda Civic (I can still drive a manual transmission thanks to that car.)

Favorite thing to do in Tri-Cities?

Enjoy all the sunshine we get here! Golf, hike Badger, paddleboard on the river.

Favorite Tri-City restaurant?

Graze (The roasted pear salad is delicious.)

Favorite day of the week?

Monday, I love a fresh start.

What would people be most surprised to learn about you?

I used to be scared of blood when I was younger; never would have thought I would grow to work as a nurse and career in health care.

Text, email, phone call?

Text: I can always access and respond quickly.

Would you rather travel back in time or to the future?

I don’t like to dwell on the past, so I would say future.