Kathleen M. Wade, Ph.D., LMSW, ACSW

Dr. Wade holds a Ph. D. in Social Welfare from City University of New York and an MSW from New York University.  She held a joint appointment in the Michigan Medicine Health System as Director of Patient and Family Services and Community Health Programs and Services at the Michigan Medicine Health System, and Assistant Dean for Hospital at the University of Michigan Social Work.  She was the Director of Social Work Services in the health system for over 17 years.  

Prior to being recruited to Michigan, Dr. Wade held a variety of administrative leadership positions in the New York City health system, including leading the development of the HIV/AIDS Designated Center at Mt. Sinai Hospital.  Dr. Wade has had teaching/faculty positions at Mt. Sinai and Columbia Presbyterian Health System in both their Medical and Dental Schools.

Dr. Wade has worked in Emergency Management most of her career and has exceptional administrative and clinical skills in crisis management.  She belonged to multiple executive leadership committees involved in Disaster Planning and Preparedness throughout the larger health care system.  She was an integral part of the Incident Command Center providing on-call coverage for the health system after hours.  This entailed providing crisis management, in conjunction with the Incident Command, for any emergency situations and/or disasters.  She has written and presented on how to prevent violence in the workplace, in conjunction with her healthcare security colleagues.  

Dr. Wade was a part of the crisis response team following the University of Michigan survival flight team crash where six people died while transporting organs for transplantation.  This entailed helping to arrange funerals with the families, as well as working closely with the Medical Examiner and Morgue, and Human Resources around benefits and donations.  She provided the mental health coordination for faculty and staff who were mourning their colleagues, as well as families who were impacted by this fatal crash.  

Dr. Wade has an expertise in death and dying, with a recent focus on palliative care.  She was instrumental in developing and implementing the Palliative Care Consultation Program (Pediatric and Adult Service) at the University of Michigan Health System, as well as being the health care administrator for the Pediatric Palliative Care Service.  She served three terms as a board member for Arbor Hospice and Palliative Care Program.  Dr. Wade taught social work practice and theory at the University of Michigan School of Social Work.  For the last 15 years she taught the Death, Grief, and Loss course to graduate students.

In terms of her leadership and coaching experience, Dr. Wade provides executive coaching to women in health care leadership positions at the University of Michigan.  She is a certified Executive Coaching by Linkage, Inc. and provides coaching through the Office of Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development.  She helped facilitate Masters Leadership Training throughout Michigan Medicine’s Health System for over 10 years.

Currently Dr. Wade has a full-time psychotherapy practice in Ann Arbor with a specialty in grief counseling.  Dr. Wade works with the State of Michigan Licensing Board (LARA) as an expert witness when complaints are filed against social workers for public health and ethics violations.

As a consultant to SRMC, Dr. Wade works in collaboration with a highly trained team of security experts. SRMC understands the value of incorporating a mental health component to crisis management.

Office: 614 224 3100
Mobile: 734-717-4186
Email: KathyW@srmcllc.com