Laura Waddell, APRN, WHNP-BC

My career began as a U.S. Army Registered Nurse, working with complex oncology patients at a large regional hospital in Washington state. In addition to my army training, was a charge nurse, taught classes for the civilian equivalent of licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and was responsible for training nurses and physicians in care and maintenance of central lines. I then moved to a Mother-Baby unit, and on to Labor and Delivery shortly after that. My passion for Women's Health started there, and I never looked back. I worked in high risk obstetric units at Fort Lewis, Washington and Las Vegas, Nevada before making my way back home to Olathe Medical Center in Kansas. I was a night shift charge nurse for a decade, where I made many lifelong friends and continued to hone my nursing skills, personnel and patient management capabilities, and decision making abilities. My last few years were spent working full time and earning my Master of Science in Nursing degree and board certification as a Women's Healthcare Nurse Practitioner. My desire to care for women allowed me to move to and work in an underserved community in southeast Iowa. For twelve years I provided comprehensive women's services both in the hospital and in the clinic setting there, before my heart brought me back to Kansas City.

I arrived back in Kansas City in July of 2025. Since then, I have had the pleasure of starting to establish my practice in the Northland and get reacquainted with the people here. There really is no place like Kansas City. I am very happy to reside here again, and look forward to getting to care for the women of Missouri and Kansas for decades to come.

Care Philosophy

Having met and cared for women in the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest, and the Midwest, in both large cities and small rural towns, and in both the military and civilian sectors, I believe that the core to great women’s health care is that it should be individualized to each patient. Each and every woman whom I encounter is an individual, and her physical health, mental health, education, socioeconomic, and family situation is unique. A woman’s health encompasses her as a person, but also extends into all areas of her life, and to those around her. As a Women’s Healthcare Nurse Practitioner, I my goal is to provide the education and resources to allow each woman to make informed health care decisions and to collaborate with her to promote her best overall health. This can mean completely different things to different women. Provision of unbiased, evidence-based information is fundamental to this idea of individualized care, and the basis of my practice philosophy. 

Areas of Interest

I care for the entire woman, from menarche through old age, from normal gynecological well woman examinations to pregnancy care through perimenopause and post-menopause, and virtually any gynecologic problems that may arise along that journey. 

Professional Memberships

• Nurse Practitioners of Women's Health
• The Menopause Society
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Honors and Awards

• Best Nurse Practitioner of Southern Iowa, 2018
• Certificate of Excellence, Olathe Medical Center, 2010, 2011 and 2012
• Pride Nomination for outstanding patient care and teamwork, Sunrise Hospital August (twice), September, October, and November 2003
• Commander's Coin, Madigan Army Medical Center, for excellence in duty by Brigadier General Michael Dunn
• Army Certificate of Achievement for Physical Fitness 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000

Teaching and Professional Positions

• Women's Healthcare Nurse Practitioner, Northland Women's Health Clinic, Kansas City, MO
• Women's Healthcare Nurse Practitioner, Ottumwa Women's Health Clinic, Ottumwa, IA
• Charge Nurse, Registered Nurse, The Birth Place, Olathe Medical Center, Olathe, KS
• Registered Nurse, Labor and Delivery, Postpartum, and Post-operative Gynecology, Mountain View Hospital, Las Vegas, NV
• Registered Nurse, Labor and Delivery/High Risk Antepartum Unit, Sunrise Hospital, Las Vegas, NV
• Registered Nurse, Charge Nurse, High Risk Labor and Delivery, Antepartum, Postpartum, Post-operative 
• Gynecology Units, Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, WA
• Registered Nurse, Charge Nurse, Didactic Instructor, Hematology/Oncology Unit, Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, WA