Connie Ebare, Director of Information and Technology Services (ITS) at Eaton Rapids Medical Center (ERMC), is this year’s recipient of the hospital’s leader Meinke Sherman Care, Serve, Inspire Award.
Ebare’s selection as the 2023 ERMC Leader of the Year was based upon a nomination submitted by her co-workers that highlighted her as an inspiring and dedicated leader.
The nomination read, in part, “She puts in hours upon hours of overtime and weekends to make sure everyone has what they need to do their jobs and always has the patients’ safety/experience at the forefront of whatever she does. When building anything for anyone, ease of use and employee satisfaction is always discussed and a primary focus. She always takes the extra step to do what she believes is correct, even if it takes twice as long!”
Ebare has been a part of the ERMC team for 24 years. She began her time at the hospital in the Med/Surg unit as House Supervisor. She later transitioned into the Emergency Department as a nurse and eventually promoted to manager within the department.
Her journey began in IT when she decided to go back to school to complete her bachelor’s in Information Technology with a minor in Security.
“I wanted to bridge the gap between clinical and technical for our clinicians,” said Ebare. “My position soon changed to Informatics Manager, and I started as a team of one. We now have a team of seven, and I was promoted to Director of Information and Technology Services in the beginning of last year.”
Ebare stated that her favorite part of her position is being able to develop and build items within the hospital’s electronic health record system, MyERMC. She enjoys creating new functions that assists the providers and departments.
Her nomination also highlighted how Ebare and her team accomplish a lot behind the scenes that many might not be aware of. The nomination read, in part, “She is on call 24/7 and can always be reached. I wish everyone could see how dedicated she truly is to ERMC.”
The Meinke Sherman Care, Serve, Inspire Award was established to honor ERMC’s founding physicians Dr. Albert Meinke and Dr. Eber Sherman, recognizing three employees each year for their outstanding service: a leader, a clinical staff member, and a non-clinical staff member.
