San Antonio to become a medical corpsman. Terry credits his time in the Army for establishing a career path in leadership. “I learned a lot in the Army, and it created a number of opportunities for me afterward. Because it was still wartime, the G.I. Bill and benefits were great and paid for my college. I grew up and I learned leadership, really. I watched and learned from my commanding ocers all of the time. It was pretty hardcore, but you learned self-discipline and I came home a different and improved person.” As a medical corpsman stationed overseas, Terry handled anything that entered the medical unit, “I did all kinds of crazy stuff. I sutured, I set fractures, and I delivered a baby. We had a license to do whatever we needed to do because doctors were rarely around. If you felt comfortable doing it, you did it.” After being stationed at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in South Korea for 13 months and several other stops during his three years in the U.S. Army, Terry utilized his Veterans Administration (VA) benefits and enrolled at Saginaw Valley State University to become a nurse. In 1981, Terry was just one of three males in his class to graduate from nursing school. He accepted a position inside the VA Hospital in Saginaw and eventually made the transition to St. Luke’s Hospital across town. At St. Luke’s, which eventually became a part of Covenant HealthCare, Terry came up through the ranks starting as a staff nurse on the floor, later becoming shift supervisor, administrative coordinator, and eventually Director of Medical- Surgical Nursing, managing five different nursing departments. Five years later, Terry was approached to become the Director of Human Resources at St. Luke’s.
Terry Lerash presents at a Veterans Day event at Country Gardens Assisted Living. As a veteran of the U.S. Army, Terry takes great pride in celebrating our local veterans.
“I told them, I’m the worst guy you’d ever want in HR. I would violate every HR policy to get stuff done. They told me, ‘that’s why we want you – to get things done.’ All in all, it was my first opportunity to truly transform some- thing for the better. I took that HR department and converted most of the staff there from being technicians at their desks to really being HR representatives out in the workforce. While in that role, I was able to complete my master’s degree from Central Michigan University.” He became the Vice President of Ancillary Services and later, Terry was recruited by what is now known as the Michigan Cardiovascular Institute (MCVI) to be their lead administrator. It was his responsibility to merge 18 cardiologists’ practices into one cohesive unit. After successfully doing so, Terry moved on to become the executive director of Cardiology at McLaren Flint. “I managed all their nursing units related to cardiology. We had three nursing units, one of which being an intensive care unit. We had two OR’s that I was responsible for and were exclusively for open-heart surgery. I enjoyed the job, but I was looking for something to fulfill my goals and align with my leadership principles. In the middle of my time there, we // CONTINUED ON PAGE 06
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We’ve got it good here. The charm of Scheurer drew me in.
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- Terry Lerash
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SCHEURER MAGAZ INE
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