With over 20 years of nursing experience, Kate Winn, MSN, RN, brings expertise, a passion for elder care and a vision for creating a truly home-like environment where residents and caregivers feel supported in her new role as Director of Nursing at Sheridan Memorial Hospital’s long-term care facility, Sheridan Green House.
Over her 23-year nursing career, Winn has cared for patients in settings ranging from emergency departments to refugee health clinics and public health epidemiology. Her work has taken her across the country and around the world, from Oklahoma and Texas to Idaho and Washington state, where she served as an administrator for a dementia and geriatric psychology facility. Most recently, Winn worked as an account manager in long-term care pharmaceuticals before moving to Wyoming, where all six of her children live.
It was during her time working in infection prevention at a nursing home in Gillette that Winn discovered her passion for long-term care.
“I started working infection prevention as a nursing home, and that’s when I really began to fall in love with it,” she said. “You’re literally meeting people where they are. This is their home. And everything you do has an impact.”
To Winn, elder care is both underserved and underappreciated.
“These are the people who made us who we are,” she reflected. “We’ve done such a good job in modern medicine keeping people alive, but we don’t quite know what to do with people when they get old. We’ve gotten people into their 80s, 90s and 100s, but we don’t have a culture that really knows how to embrace that.”
For Winn, one of the most meaningful parts of her work is watching younger staff members interact with residents.
“To see the community of elders and staff interact — to see child-rearing advice, recipes and encouragement shared — is so special,” she said. “The elders have been through it before, so they’re able to offer life advice to the staff that work around them. Seeing generations intermingle is so healthy, and you don’t see that in many areas of healthcare or even in our society.”
Winn was drawn to work at Sheridan Green House because of its unique, cottage-style setting and its use of the Green House Model — an innovative approach to long-term care where elders live in home-like cottages and caregivers provide personalized support, home-cooked meals and meaningful daily routines and activities.
Winn credits Sheridan Green House’s Executive Director Tonya Carlson, BSN, RN, NHA, and former Director of Nursing Dawn Morgan, RN, for laying a strong foundation she’s eager to build upon.
“Because Tonya and Dawn rolled up their sleeves and really got after it, the pieces are all here now to build something that will work well for the elders, the staff and for the community,” Winn praised.
Winn’s main goal as Sheridan Green House’s director of nursing is simple:
“We should be a great place to work and a great place to live.”
Having lived in many rural communities, Winn understands the challenges of sustaining quality healthcare in small towns.
“I’ve seen rural hospitals fail and families drive hours just to see a doctor,” she explained. “For a hospital and nursing home to work together, it’s more than smart business. It’s touching. It means saying to our community, ‘We’ll be your home now.’ That matters.”
When she’s not at work, Winn enjoys spending time outside, collecting and polishing rocks, drawing, painting, writing, knitting and making her own collage paper. She’s also an avid reader, with favorites including “The Odyssey” and “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”.
Winn describes herself as “approachable and a good listener” and someone who values honesty and trust.
“I can’t solve every problem,” she said. “But I’ll always try to at least bring us to an understanding.”
Sheridan Green House is comprised of four cottages, each with 12 rooms available for residents. If you or a loved one is considering long-term care, reach out to Sheridan Green House at 307.672.0600. For additional information, see sheridangreenhouse.org.