She will Oversee Nursing, Patient Care at Both Hospitals
During her free time, Dawn Shuman enjoys making mosaics. The hands-on activity helps the busy hospital executive relax and express her creativity.
One of her most recent projects featured the word “hope.” She made it after spending time with rehab therapists throughout ThedaCare.
“It’s what the therapists do every day – they build hope in their patients,” said Shuman, who was recently named director of nursing and patient care for Wild Rose Community Memorial Hospital (soon to be ThedaCare Medical Center-Wild Rose) and ThedaCare Medical Center-Waupaca.
Her new role is the latest in Shuman’s career, which started 27 years ago when the Plainfield native was hired as a certified nursing assistant at Wild Rose Community Memorial Hospital. She went on to become a nurse, supervisor of obstetrics and eventually director of nursing before moving into administrative roles, including being named hospital CEO in 2014. As part of a management realignment at both hospitals, Craig Kantos, CEO of ThedaCare Medical Center-Waupaca, was named leader of the Wild Rose hospital and Shuman was named director of nursing and patient care at both hospitals. The moves create efficiencies and improvements at both hospitals, Shuman said.
“We’ll really be able to enhance what we’re doing and develop strategies that improve quality while reducing costs,” she said. “There are a lot of synergies among the two hospitals and we already work well together. This only enhances that.”
Shuman and Kantos have worked together on several issues since Wild Rose affiliated with ThedaCare in 2014. “We have a solid working relationship and we have a good synergy together,” said Shuman, who in addition to her nursing degree holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership and quality. “I come from a solid nursing background and he has a solid background as a healthcare executive so together I think we’ll make an exceptional team as we strive to improve care for patients in both Waupaca and Wild Rose.”
Even before Shuman began her new role on July 1, she spent time at ThedaCare Medical Center-Waupaca learning about the nuances of the campus by shadowing nurses and discussing priorities and current challenges.
“There’s great talent on both the Wild Rose and Waupaca nursing teams and together we can really enhance the care being delivered to our communities,” she said. “This position allows me to get back to my clinical roots, which is something I enjoy.”
Nurses and other members of the team play such a vital role in rural communities, Shuman said. “They have such a positive impact on patients and their families,” she said. “It’s an honor to be able to impact people in such a meaningful way.”
Shuman is active in the Waushara County communities and looks forward to being involved in Waupaca, too.
For more than 100 years, ThedaCare™ has been committed to finding a better way to deliver serious and complex healthcare to patients throughout Northeast Wisconsin. The organization serves over 200,000 patients annually and employs more than 7,000 healthcare professionals throughout the region. ThedaCare has seven hospitals located in Appleton, Neenah, Berlin, Waupaca, Shawano, New London and Wild Rose as well as 34 clinics in nine counties. ThedaCare is the first in Wisconsin to be a Mayo Clinic Care Network Member, giving our specialists the ability to consult with Mayo Clinic experts on a patient’s care. ThedaCare is a non-profit healthcare organization with a level II trauma center, comprehensive cancer treatment, stroke and cardiac programs as well as a foundation dedicated to community service. ThedaCare Regional Cancer Center in Appleton opened in February. For more information, visit www.thedacare.org or follow ThedaCare on Facebook and Twitter.
