Sarah Redemann celebrates 20 years with UW Health

Woman standing in a park with a bridge in the background

Sarah Redemann, NP, has known she wanted to work in health care since she was a teenager and her father was hospitalized with a serious illness. Her amazement at how well the nurses cared for her father led her to become a nurse herself. After nearly two decades of caring for a full range of patients at UW Health, but with a particular interest in women’s health, Redemann took on a very different and challenging job. As the first APP Manager for Pediatric Specialties — a position she started in 2021 — Redemann assumed the role of leading the advanced practice providers (APPs) in the Department of Pediatrics. Specifically, she oversees APP supervisors to ensure they have what they need for their teams to function at their highest level.

Recently, Redemann marked a milestone in her career: 20 years at UW Health.

Redemann brought her more than two decades of nursing experience to the Department of Pediatrics. She started her career as an RN in various emergency departments in the Milwaukee area. After graduate school, she worked as a nurse practitioner in the orthopedic trauma service at UW Hospital before starting her first permanent position with UW Health at the Odana Road Family Medicine Clinic in 2004. There, her time was divided between clinical work and managing a team of about 40 nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

While Redemann still has a role at that clinic, the majority of her time is spent as the APP manager in the Department of Pediatrics, and her work now is primarily administrative rather than clinical. When asked about this transition, Redemann credited the Department of Pediatrics with being very welcoming and supportive in helping her learn about the department, how the APPs work within it, and their growing needs within the department.

The APP manager position is new in the Department of Pediatrics; APPs previously reported to the department administrator. Redemann describes her job as “leading leaders,” which she says requires a different type of focus on helping her team supervisors build their teams. Meanwhile, she maintains what she calls a “10,000-foot view” to identify where the growth will be in the department, and what programs need to be developed.

Redemann says she focuses on helping her supervisors carry out UW Health’s strategic mission and influence their frontline leaders on their APP teams. The other part of her role is working with division chiefs in the department and understanding what they need most for their workforce. Among her biggest challenges right now is understanding the impact the upcoming changes to the pediatric residency will have on the APPs as the residency transitions away from hospital-based care toward primary and ambulatory care.

Redemann oversees three APP supervisors: Alicia Barnes in neonatology, Lynne Sears in inpatient critical care, and Kim Squires in ambulatory medicine; she oversaw the hiring and onboarding of the latter two soon after starting as APP manager in the department. Redemann says one of the most fun and exciting parts of her job is watching her supervisors grow into their formal leadership roles and develop their own leadership styles.

According to Squires, “Sarah has done a tremendous job in her role as the first pediatric APP manager at UW Health. She has a vision for growth and productivity of the APPs. She communicates well and listens to others’ concerns and ideas. She has been a wonderful mentor to me, and I am so honored to work with her.”

Redemann and her husband are parents to two sons and a daughter; their youngest son just finished his freshman year in college, so the couple are getting accustomed to being empty nesters. In her off hours, she and her husband like to hike and bike — they are partial to Indian Lake in Dane County and Devil’s Lake State Park. Their two cockapoos, Josie and Stella, enjoy joining them on hikes as well as “helping” with yardwork, although Redemann admits that puppy Josie’s help is generally in the form of digging.