Karen has over 40 years of clinical and administrative experience in emergency departments. As a Certified Emergency Nurse and Board-certified Nurse Executive, she maintains an expertise in emergency care and nursing administration recognized by professional organizations.

Prior to joining Stamp & Chase, Karen served in the ED Director role for nine years at a large academic healthcare system in Rhode Island. She later joined a respected consulting firm with whom she successfully completed interim ED director roles for 4 major non-profit healthcare organizations. Most recently, she served as an ED-specific coach for a healthcare organization improvement firm, positively influencing over 30 organizations nationwide, from small rural to large academic medical centers.

Karen specializes in ED operational improvement projects and ED leadership development. Her passion is to create an ED culture that maximizes the engagement of ED staff and providers with each other and with the patients they serve. She has a track record of successfully implementing individualized strategies focused on improving key ED throughput metrics and measures targeting improved patient experience. She has authored white papers directly related to ED improvement processes.

Karen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and Master of Science/Nursing Administration, each from the University of Rhode Island. She is an active member of the Emergency Nurses Association, a past state president and current board member of the Rhode Island State Council, having also served as chairperson of two outstanding New England Regional Symposium conferences. She is also certified in all levels of the FEMA Emergency Management curriculum and has successfully managed the emergency management chapter of the Joint Commission regulations for hospitals.