Amy Edge: Impacting Patient Care in Multiple Ways

Cross-trained in many different areas, Amy Edge, Performance Improvement Specialist, is an essential part of UnityPoint Health – Trinity Regional Medical Center. With a nursing background, Amy spends four days a week working in Performance Improvement/Quality, and then picks up at least one day a week working on the floor.

“It’s the best of both worlds,” she said. “On the floor, you have the fast-paced, hands-on critical thinking. It’s a very different type of work in an office setting, but you still impact patient care and critically think through challenging situations. It’s a nice balance between the two.”

Amy started at Trinity in 2017 in Acute Care, working on the floor as a charge nurse and house supervisor, before continuing her UnityPoint Health journey in Des Moines. She worked for a year at Iowa Methodist Medical Center, a service of UnityPoint Health – Des Moines, and then returned to Trinity in 2021.

“When I was in school, I thought I had to go to bigger hospitals and bigger cities to really get a fulfilling career, but Fort Dodge is a great place to work,” she said. “What I love about Trinity is the ability to have so many jobs and roles. It’s a smaller organization, so you know people across all departments.”

Amy is the Orthopedic Coordinator for the DNV Hip and Knee Replacement Certification, where she completes chart reviews for every patient who has an elective hip or knee replacement. She also gathers patient feedback at the bedside, leads interdisciplinary team meetings and ensures the hospital is following the DNV requirements.

For Amy, the best part of her day is knowing she made a difference – whether that’s assisting patients at the bedside or working to ensure processes and procedures are followed.

“In Quality, it can take a little longer to see the effects of your work if implementing a change in practice, but our team is really dedicated and everyone works hard to provide a safe place for patients and team members,” she said.

From providing high-quality outcomes and ensuring evidence-based care is performed for patients, Amy describes team members across Trinity as caring, compassionate and dedicated. She recalls a time as house supervisor when there was a teenage patient in the Emergency Room on their birthday. Amy purchased a card from the gift shop for team members to sign, and a piece of cake from the café for the patient.

“It’s the little things that show the patient you care about them as a person, beyond their medical condition,” she said. “Personally, it brings the joy in why I do what I do. It does make a difference and makes the long days worth it.”

As one of Trinity’s Nurse Ambassadors, Amy is excited to impact future generations, get youth excited about the nursing field and “to show how you truly can impact someone else’s life.”