11/05/2025
š : Misty Wuis, LPN, LNHA
Nurse | Nursing Home Administrator | Leader
Some leaders build teams. Others build belief.
For Misty, leadership has never been about titlesāitās about transformation. With nearly two decades in nursing and long-term care, her deepest fulfillment comes from helping her staff discover the best versions of themselvesāas professionals, caregivers, human beings.
āI really find fulfillment in helping my staff discover and reach the best versions of themselves in their own lives and careers,ā she shares.
āThere are leaders at every level in this industry, no matter your job title. When you can bring out the best in people, they naturally want to do their bestāand that creates the best environment for residents to heal.ā
Her story doesnāt just underscore longevityāit reflects evolution. Beginning in May 2005 as a Med-Surg LPN in a small Virginia hospital, Misty advanced through ICU and Emergency care early in her career. From there, she ventured into long-term care: working on a specialized ventilator unit, supporting geriatric home health, then moving onward to Indiana nursing homes (six years), and into home health pediatrics in Michigan in early 2011. But even that detour reinforced a deeper truth for her: she felt most purpose when caring for older adults and shaping long-term care environments.
Her shift into the government sectorāin Michigan with the Veterans Affairs system at the Grand Rapids Home for Veteransāwas the crucible in which her advocacy and leadership sharpened. Working under VA regulations taught her new dimensions of care: how policy, passion, and structure must align for residents to truly thrive. It was in this chapter that she was nominated and accepted the Vice President position of her union (AFSCME), stepping even more fully into leadership as both employee advocate and patient advocate.
This momentum carried her into academia and new credentials: she graduated from Kalamazoo Valley Community College (Associate in Criminal Justice, December 2020) and later from Ferris State University (Nursing Home Administration, May 2022) ā each academic milestone fueling her leadership maturity and reinforcing her conviction to foster change in long-term care.
Today, as Executive Director at Plainwell Pines Nursing & Rehab (an Atrium Living Centers community), Misty leads with a steady hand and an open heart. She doesnāt just manage operationsāshe designs environments where staff feel empowered, residents feel seen, and healing is the lived promise.
Why this matters for residents:
1. When a caregiver believes they are a leaderānot just a clinicianāthe time they spend with a resident becomes richer.
2. When staff feel heard and developed, the culture shifts: hallways hum with connection, not just tasks.
3. When leadership invests in peopleās growth, residents benefit through consistency, attention, and empathy.
4. When small acts of kindness are encouraged and celebrated, trust grows, dignity blooms, and healing deepens.
Mistyās mantra encapsulates this chain:
āWhen you take good care of your staff,ā she says, āthey take good care of your residents.ā
It sounds simpleābut that's what makes it so powerful. Through leaders like Misty, systems change, cultures shift, and lives are restored.
In her presence, leadership becomes more than a roleāit becomes hope. Residents at Plainwell Pines donāt just receive careāthey receive heart, advocacy, stability, and dignity.
And when a resident feels that, everything shifts.
Connect with Misty at 09-admin@atriumlivingcenters.com.
