Ms. Lewis began her executive nursing leadership career as chief nursing officer at Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga, Tennessee. There, she experienced firsthand the power of “Southern hospitality” in patient care and team culture. She later moved north to Wisconsin, serving as regional vice president and CNO for SSM Health’s Wisconsin region.
At SSM Health, she oversaw seven hospitals and more than 100 ambulatory sites an expansive, complex environment that demanded strong systems thinking, disciplined clinical standards and a deep commitment to patient-centered care. That experience shaped her approach to leading large nursing teams through rapid change, workforce shortages and increasing acuity.
Now at MultiCare Health System, Ms. Lewis is responsible for a nursing workforce of 7,845 employed registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and nurse practitioners. MultiCare operates 13 hospitals and more than 300 healthcare facilities across Washington, Idaho and Oregon a massive, multi-state enterprise serving diverse communities, including urban, suburban and rural populations.
As she steps into the Pacific Northwest, she’s not just taking on a CNO role. She’s helping shape what a modern, sustainable nursing workforce should look like in a region known for innovation, outdoor culture and a strong emphasis on work-life balance.
Three Strategic Priorities: Excellence and a Modern Nursing Workforce
Ms. Lewis has clearly articulated three top priorities in her new role at MultiCare:
1. Clinical Excellence
2. Operational Excellence
3. A Flourishing, Modern Workforce
These are not abstract goals. For MultiCare and for healthcare systems nationwide each of these pillars ties directly into nurse retention, patient outcomes and long-term organizational stability. They also intersect directly with international nurse recruitment, nurse immigration pathways and the legal infrastructure required to bring global nursing talent to U.S. hospitals.
1. Clinical Excellence: Safe, High‑Quality Care
Ms. Lewis is highly focused on measurable, evidence-based indicators of quality. Among her key clinical priorities:
- Reducing healthcare-acquired pressure injuries
- Decreasing unassisted patient falls
- Promoting early ambulation, especially in older adults
These are critical patient safety metrics that demand highly trained, consistent and adequately staffed nursing teams. When a health system struggles with nurse shortages whether due to retirements, burnout or local workforce limitations these metrics are often the first to suffer.
By setting clear targets around these clinical outcomes, Ms. Lewis is reinforcing the message that staffing, training, onboarding and culture are central to quality. For many organizations, this also means looking beyond local borders to hire international nurses with strong clinical backgrounds and a desire to build long-term careers in the U.S.
2. Operational Excellence: Aligning Care, Efficiency and Value
Operational excellence in nursing isn’t just about cutting costs or hitting productivity metrics. For Ms. Lewis, it means building systems that:
- Support nurses in working at the top of their license
- Reduce waste and inefficiencies in workflows
- Enable better coordination across hospitals and ambulatory sites
She has emphasized the importance of value-informed nursing practice connecting nursing decisions to financial results and overall organizational strategy. This is especially important for large integrated health systems where resource allocation, staffing models and care redesign are ongoing priorities.
When health systems adopt international nurse recruitment strategies, operational excellence becomes even more essential. New international RNs and LPNs need:
- Structured onboarding programs
- Clinical and cultural integration support
- Clear communication and role expectations
A well-designed operational framework not only improves patient care but also enhances the experience and retention of foreign-trained nurses who are building new lives and careers in the U.S.
3. Building a Flourishing, Modern Nursing Workforce
Perhaps the most forward-looking part of Ms. Lewis’ vision is her commitment to creating a flourishing, modern workforce. This goes beyond filling vacancies. It means intentionally designing a workplace where nurses can grow, feel valued and see a future.
Her strategy includes:
- Expanding the nursing workforce by growing overall headcount
- Building academic partnerships and pipelines with nursing schools
- Ensuring nursing practice is aligned with both clinical and financial realities
- Supporting a culture where nurses are heard and engaged in decision-making
Academic partnerships are particularly vital for long-term sustainability. But many regions still face structural shortages where even aggressive local recruitment and education programs aren’t enough to meet demand. That’s where recruiting international nurses becomes a powerful and necessary strategy.
Why Culture Matters: How She “Fell in Love” With MultiCare
When a recruiter initially approached Ms. Lewis about the MultiCare opportunity, she hesitated.
She recalls saying she wasn’t sure she was interested:
She was happy in Madison, Wisconsin, felt valued at SSM Health and wasn’t actively looking to make a move.
Everything changed after she met MultiCare’s president, Florence Chang.
Through several conversations, Ms. Lewis saw how deeply MultiCare’s leadership prioritized culture not as a slogan, but as a lived, measurable part of daily operations. During a two-day on-site visit, she met with more than 30 people from across the organization, in different roles and levels.
Despite not hearing each other’s input, those individuals consistently communicated the same themes:
- A palpable commitment to organizational culture
- A shared sense of purpose around patient care
- A strong structure supporting collaboration and accountability
For a system of MultiCare’s size, Ms. Lewis found it remarkable that culture was not only a stated priority but something staff could clearly articulate and genuinely feel. It was this alignment across leadership, frontline staff and organizational strategy that led her to think, “There might be a place for me here.”
This story carries a vital lesson for healthcare organizations, especially those investing in international nurse hiring:
Culture isn’t a soft, optional add-on. It’s a core differentiator in attracting and retaining both domestic and international nursing talent.
A health system can offer competitive pay and benefits, but if nurses especially those arriving from other countries don’t experience respect, support and inclusion, they are unlikely to stay long-term.
Connecting the Dots: Nurse Immigration and Workforce Strategy
The priorities Ms. Lewis has set at MultiCare clinical excellence, operational excellence and a flourishing workforce mirror the challenges and opportunities many U.S. healthcare organizations face today.
Across the country, hospitals and health systems are:
- Grappling with nursing shortages and turnover
- Seeking to recruit and retain international nurses to stabilize staffing
- Balancing financial pressures with quality and safety expectations
- Trying to sustain a positive, inclusive culture under intense operational strain
In this environment, international nurse recruitment isn’t just a temporary patch. When approached strategically and ethically, it becomes an integral part of long-term workforce planning.
That’s where VisaMadeEZ comes in.
How VisaMadeEZ Supports Healthcare Organizations Hiring International Nurses
VisaMadeEZ is an immigration law firm focused specifically on helping healthcare organizations hire international nurses. We understand that bringing in foreign-trained RNs and LPNs isn’t just about filing paperwork it’s about aligning immigration strategy with clinical, operational and cultural goals.
We partner with:
- Hospitals and health systems
- Long-term care facilities
- Specialty clinics and home health organizations
Our services for healthcare employers include:
- End-to-end immigration strategy for hiring international nurses
- Employment-based green cards (EB-3 and other relevant categories)
- Nonimmigrant visa options where applicable
- Coordination with HR and talent acquisition teams
- Compliance and risk management
- Ensuring adherence to U.S. immigration law and Department of Labor requirements
- Advising on ethical recruitment and fair employment practices
- Scalable hiring solutions
- Building ongoing pipelines of international RNs and LPNs
- Supporting organizations that are expanding regionally or across states
By combining legal expertise with a deep understanding of healthcare operations, VisaMadeEZ helps organizations:
- Stabilize staffing in critical units
- Support nurse leaders like Ms. Lewis in executing their workforce strategies
- Improve continuity of care through long-term nurse retention
- Reduce reliance on costly temporary staffing models
Building the Future of Nursing: Local and Global Talent Working Together
The story of Ms. Lewis’ journey to MultiCare is more than a leadership profile. It highlights the emerging blueprint for nursing in the U.S.:
- Strong, visible leadership
- Commitment to clinical and operational excellence
- Strategic investment in workforce development
- A culture that values people as much as performance
For many organizations, achieving that vision will require both local and global talent. International nurses bring valuable experience, diverse perspectives and a deep commitment to patient care. But to integrate them successfully, healthcare employers need:
- The right immigration strategy
- A supportive, inclusive workplace culture
- Clear alignment between leadership priorities and frontline realities
At VisaMadeEZ, we’re dedicated to helping healthcare organizations bridge that gap streamlining the complex process of hiring international nurses so leaders can stay focused on what matters most: delivering safe, high-quality, compassionate care.
If your organization is exploring international nurse recruitment as part of your long-term workforce strategy, VisaMadeEZ can guide you through every step of the process from visa selection to approval, compliance and beyond.
VisaMadeEZ: Making nurse immigration straightforward, compliant and aligned with your mission to care.
