Dr. Melinda Cooling serves as the Vice President of Advanced Practice and the Chief Clinician Executive, OSF OnCall at OSF HealthCare.  Melinda is a family nurse practitioner and practiced within an Internal Medicine/Pediatrics practice as well as modern urgent care.  Dr. Cooling developed the vision for the Center for Advanced Practice within OSF HealthCare which included the conceptualization of an APP Fellowship model which has now achieved national accreditation.  She has held faculty positions in undergraduate and graduate colleges of nursing.

Dr. Cooling has experience in research serving as a principal investigator for studies related to rheumatoid arthritis. She has been a co-investigator for several current studies relating to APP transition to practice, burnout, and preceptor evaluation tools for post-graduate fellowship. She has served as a member of a research team for studies of the efficacy of simulation for nursing students.

From a national perspective, Dr. Cooling serves as an Advisory board member of Advanced Practice Provider Executives (APPex), the Center for Advancing Provider Practices (CAP2) Thought Leaders’ Council, Sullivan Cotter Advanced Practice Council, and held a position on the Association of PostGraduate APRN Programs board. In addition, she serves as a commissioner on accreditation for American Nurses Credentialing Center Transition to Practice programs.  In her role within Saint Gabriel Digital Health, she works with operational and clinical leaders to design and implement new digital solutions to provide care for patients and communities.

Bio updated September 2020