By Haley Jones, Director of Marketing and Development
Sara Boyd is no stranger to Memorial Health System (MHS). All who she shares a presence with have received her smile and kindness for the last 11 years. While she spent the majority of that time on the third floor of the hospital behind secure doors as the Nurse Manager of the ROSE Behavioral Unit, she is a well-known leader among her peers, coworkers, and friends in the health system. Sara’s experience, character, and dedication to MHS made it easy to select her for Memorial Health System’s new Senior Director of Operations (SDO)!
The ROSE Behavioral Unit is where Sara started her nursing career under the direction of Marcel Shoemaker in April 2013. She was a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) preparing to take the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) required to become a Registered Nurse (RN). Around the same time she passed her NCLEX and gained her RN licensure, a day-shift RN had left the ROSE Unit creating an open position that Sara applied for. “It was like it was meant to be”, she said.
Marcel had been the ROSE Unit Director since its beginning in 1997 and he had made his desire to retire known to his staff. After working for two years as an RN on the ROSE Unit, Brenda Moffitt, the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) at that time approached Sara, “I will never forget”, she said, “I was coming out of the med room and she came up to me and said ‘have you ever thought about taking Marcel’s position?’ and I told her I didn’t think I could do it. She said, ‘You can do that. You would be great at it.’ That’s what people need sometimes; is that push and someone believing in them. So then I thought, maybe I can do it.” Sara became the next and only other person to manage the ROSE Unit in the 26 years it was open. Upon the closing in January of this year, Sara reached out to Marcel and they reminisced about the days of working together. Sara told Marcel that accepting the position as ROSE Unit Manager was one of the best decisions she had ever made in her life, and he told her, “My decision to have you take over the ROSE Unit was one of my best decisions while I was there.”
During her eight-year reign as the Nurse Manager of the ROSE Unit, Sara also filled other roles at MHS. She is also a Co-chair of PFAC (Patient and Family Advisory Council), and Vice Chair of the EOC (Employer of Choice) Committee. Sara is quick to jump in and help wherever she is needed. She has been trained to help in the Pharmacy; ordering medications and keeping medication stocked in departments so that they have what they need to distribute medication to patients. What’s more, Sara pushed herself to the next level in her career by returning to school to obtain her Bachelor of Science in 2019, and Master of Science in Nursing Leadership and Management in 2021; both from Western Governor’s University.
Once again, Sara found herself in another unexpected opportunity with someone pushing her to try on “new shoes” quite literally. Discussions to have another clinical person join the Administration team have been going on for quite some time now. Around the same time the ROSE Unit was closing, the Administration team was working with Human Resources to create such a position. Angie Johnson, CNO, believed in Sara and told her to apply before considering looking for a new job outside of MHS. Sara loves MHS and didn’t want to work anywhere else, so she didn’t hesitate to go for it!
Administration welcomed Sara on April 8 when her new title became official. They shared these sentiments about her:
Hospital Administrator, Harold Courtois – “We are very excited to have Sara Boyd, MSN, in her new role as Senior Director of Operations. Sara brings a wealth of knowledge clinically and will be a real asset moving forward.”
Chief Financial Officer, Elgin Glanzer – “Sara brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from working in different departments at MHS over the years she has worked here. I am excited to put her leadership skills to broader use within our organization.”
Chief Nursing Officer, Angie Johnson – “Sara has brought fresh energy to our admin team. She takes her experience of leading with compassion, and the desire to truly want everyone around her to succeed, and puts that into her everyday dedication to MHS.”
Sara will report directly to Harold Courtois, Hospital Administrator, and the following departments will report to her: Radiology, Respiratory Therapy, Lab, Volunteer Services, Environmental Services, and the Dietitian who oversees Food and Nutritional Services. She has been able to meet with all of the leaders in these departments and her position has been well received by them. “I have been told things like, ‘so happy you were able to stay, and ‘glad we will be working together’. I explained to them all that yes, I am your boss so to say, but I want you to always feel like we work together. You don’t work for me, you work with me. It’s always a team effort, and I am always going to be supportive and be there for them. I am very approachable. I want them to come to me with anything. They all run their departments very well, and they know way more than me, so I am excited to be challenged and learn new things.” Some would say success often happens with a little bit of luck, others would argue hard work makes one successful. While luck can certainly play a role in providing unexpected opportunities for a person, it is the hard work, determination, and resiliency of a person that plays a huge part in the construct of success. For Sara, her career at MHS has had more than one unexpected opportunity, and she continues to excel in each new challenge. Although she has earned her way to this new position Sara says she still has to, “pinch myself every now and then” because she can’t believe she is sitting in the seat where Brenda Moffit, the previous CNO who gave her the first push used to sit. MHS has no doubt she do awesome things in her new role as the Senior Director of Operations!