Wade Lee Wahlquist, RN, BSN, is married to the love of his life, Christina Wahqluist. She is his best friend and loyal partner. Together they are the parents of 6 amazing children plus one more in heaven. Wade has known many trials throughout his life and is no stranger to hard work, failure, and the deep vicissitudes of a human life. While he was in school, he carried a Commander’s Coin in his pocket from his uncle, Colonel John A. Wahlquist, USAF, United States Air Force Defense and Air Attache, that reads, “Perseverance Above Brilliance Begets Excellence”. This motto illustrates Wade’s gritty dedication to his faith, his personal improvement, his family, his career, and his patients. Wade has had many successes and accomplishments throughout his life, and they have all come, primarily, from a consistent application of hard work and a gritty refusal to give up.

Wade has worked and served in many capacities including six years of military service in the Idaho National Guard during the Gulf War Era, a two-year mission for his church, and three years as a staff member at a residential treatment facility for mentally disabled sex offenders. In
his early adult life, he worked in the construction industry doing electrical work, welding, gas piping, and flooring all while earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology, a minor in Psychology, and a Criminology Justice Certificate from the University of Utah.  When Wade was 33 years old, and with 4 children under the age of 9 at home, he made a major career change to go back to school and begin work in the healthcare
industry. He started as a CNA, and nurse aid, at University Hospital and continued to build his education and his family, adding three degrees and 3 children, over the next 18 years. Currently, Wade has a Bachelor of Science degree, BSN in Nursing from Utah Tech University, an AAS in Nursing from Salt Lake Community College; and has earned numerous nursing certifications, skills, and positions including PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support), ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) and many others while working in critical care for the last 18 years.

True to his warrior heart and his first responder mentality, Wade has spent nearly his entire nursing career working in ICU trauma including Burn, Neuro, Surgical, Pediatric trauma, and Psychiatric Care. He is currently a charge nurse in the ICU at St George Regional Medical Center, and is routinely given to the most critical patients in the valley.  He recovers new heart surgeries, cardiac, neuro, accident, and critically ill, medical patients.
Wade has been recognized by patients, family members, and fellow staff as a compassionate, present, exceptionally skilled, and approachable nurse with the best Dad Jokes and a fierce advocacy for his patients. He loves what he does and is living the dream. 

When Wade is not in the hospital, he works with the exceptional staff at Star Guides where he has been able to combine his life’s work and education to care for the young people who come to Wilderness Therapy.  Star Guides is truly the culmination of a lifelong pursuit of education and healthcare for Wade. Here, he is able to draw on his Sociology, Psychology, and Nursing degrees, along with his Dad-heart and military precision to be one of the best Outdoor Wilderness Therapy nurses in the industry. He believes in the young people who come to Star Guides, and knows that with their own gritty determination to never give up, they too can, and will, become their own best selves.