Prior to joining Wintergreen, Nicole was the Chief Nursing Officer and Director of Risk and Quality at a Nebraska critical access hospital for over ten years.  In this role she had oversight of all nursing functions including medical-surgical, swing bed, obstetrics, emergency department, surgery, outpatient specialty clinic, and four rural health clinics. She led six successful DNV accreditation surveys, four patient centered medical home surveys, and four rural health clinic surveys.  In addition to her responsibilities with Wintergreen, Nicole currently practices part-time as a Nurse Practitioner in an Emergency Department in central Nebraska.

Education

Thorell received her diploma in nursing from Bryan College of Health Sciences, her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing from Kaplan University and her Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Nicole became a TeamSTEPPS master trainer in 2009. She received her LEAN Six Sigma green belt in 2013 and her Just Culture Certification in 2015. Thorell was a National Rural Health Association Fellow in 2018. She has served on numerous committees and held many officer-level positions including being the District Three president for the Nebraska Organization of Nurse Leaders. Thorell has earned numerous distinctions including Nebraska Action Coalition 40 under 40 Emerging Leaders Award and the Nebraska Organization of Nurse Leaders Distinguished Nurse Leader and Mentor Award.