I have worked for OhioHealth for 10 years, 5 of those on the ED leadership team. In my time I have seen many people come and go, including many leaders. About 4 months ago I learned that we would be welcoming a new Director of Nursing in the ED, for the 4th time during my service on the leadership team. I wasn’t overly excited for yet another change, as you could imagine, but I was curious and hopeful. Kerri Walker was her name, and she was someone I had never met. I heard everyone say she was a high performer, a results driver, well respected, a real go-getter, etc. I was expecting to soon meet this fierce and stern woman who wore a well-tailored suit with pointed toe high heels and spoke words that I didn’t understand.

One day, I was sitting in my office in the ED Leadership Suite when I heard a voice I didn’t recognize, followed by my colleagues saying, “Hi Kerri!”. I cautiously came out of my office, watching and listening as she greeted everyone in the room. Soon she turned to me and with a warm and kind smile and said, “You must be S. I’m Kerri, and it’s very nice to finally meet you”, as she reached her hand out to shake mine. In my very first encounter with her, she made me feel like I was important to her. She gave me what I refer to as the 3 A’s: Acknowledgment, Acceptance, and Approval. Unlike the ridiculous picture I had painted in my head, she wore normal clothes that made her look classy and approachable. Unlike the ridiculous story I told myself, she spoke softly but with confidence, without using overpowering vocabulary. I knew right then that this was the right person for us.

Since that day Kerri has taken me (and many others) under her wing. She brings out the best in me by encouraging me to express my thoughts and make suggestions. Kerri always gives everyone a turn to speak, no matter how many people are in the room, because she places value on diversity and inclusion. She pushes me to stretch and grow by taking on tasks that I’ve never done before, followed by celebrating with me when I am successful and giving me honest feedback for improvement when I am not. She cares about us, genuinely. Kerri strives for excellence in our department because that’s what our patients and staff deserve. She has recently led through some process changes and policy enforcement in our department to promote better patient outcomes and to increase professionalism and improve culture in the ED. She has held staff meetings to ask the entire staff for input on how to make things better. She can often be found rounding in the department, checking in on both patients and staff. It’s not unusual to find Kerri in a patient room with her sleeves rolled up, doing patient care.

Kerri seeks to improve the health of every person we serve, she honors the dignity and worth of each person in all that she does, and her values completely align with those of OhioHealth: Compassion, Excellence, Inclusion, Integrity, and Stewardship.

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Kerri is my Director. From day one she has worked to develop myself and Jenn McCoy and make us a part of the M/O/S/A (Mansfield, Ontario, Shelby, Ashland) ED leadership team as a whole. Prior to her arrival our teams felt very disconnected due to a high turnover in management at all 4 sites. Kerri has developed a cadence of team meetings and a fluid agenda that makes our time spent attending these meetings valuable as we travel from home sites to attend. Kerri remains in contact regularly and is available with any need. She brings a wealth of knowledge about what works and what doesn't from past experiences in management to ensure that the projects we work on and changes we make can be as effective as possible.