Kim Waffensmith, Riverwood Ancillary Services Manager
Tony Sundholm, Riverwood Emergency Department Manager
Riverwood Healthcare Center is pleased to welcome Tony Sundholm, RN, and Kim Waffensmith to oversee several inpatient and outpatient departments.
With 20 years of nursing experience, Tony Sundholm has returned to his former role as manager of Riverwood’s emergency department with wider responsibilities and supervision of about 30 health care professionals. In addition to emergency services, he oversees the hospital’s infusion center, cardiopulmonary department (cardiac stress testing, inpatient respiratory care, cardiac rehabilitation and sleep studies), and invasive procedural radiology services.
“I enjoyed my past experience in managing Riverwood’s emergency department and am happy to be back on staff,” Sundholm says. “I grew up in Aitkin and returned to the area over 10 years ago because I enjoy the friendly family atmosphere of this community.”
His nursing experience includes working in a large Twin Cities cardiac intensive care unit and in hospitals with the highest trauma center (Levels 1 and II) designations. For 12 years he worked as a helicopter flight nurse for Life Link III. Five years ago, he transitioned back to full-time flight nursing for Life Link III when it opened a new base in northern Minnesota. His experience also includes serving in the U.S. Army for four years during the Gulf War against Iraq in the early ‘90s.
Sundholm obtained his registered nursing degree from Ridgewater College and is credentialed as a Certified Flight Registered Nurse.
As ancillary services manager, Kim Waffensmith oversees the lab and radiology departments at Riverwood and brings nearly 30 years of work experience in the health care field.
On the staff of Central Lakes Clinic in Crosby from 1985 to 2011, Waffensmith recently held the position of director of ancillary services where she managed the departments of lab, radiology and information technology and served on the senior management team. From 2011 to 2013, she served in a senior project manager role for Cuyuna Regional Medical Center.
“Riverwood is truly a community hospital, working together with local organizations like public health, nursing homes and others to best serve the needs of patients,” Waffensmith says. “I’m excited for the opportunity to be part of an organization which has the same mission and values that I valued and to be back working in the lab and radiology areas where both my passion and expertise lie.”
Waffensmith, a native of the Deerwood/Bay Lake area, holds a bachelor’s degree in medical technology from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She later completed certification in project management and a mini MBA at the University of St. Thomas. She also completed a health information technology program at Normandale Community College.
“We are thrilled to have these two seasoned health care professionals join our management team,” says Kristine Layne, Riverwood’s chief nursing officer. “They both bring a high level of expertise and experience in working with patients, physicians and others, plus as local residents they have personal knowledge of the communities we serve.”