Latrice Garner, RN, named Director of Nursing at The Lodge at MapleCreek

Latrice Garner, RN, has been promoted to the position of Director of Nursing for The Lodge at MapleCreek. She has worked at The Lodge since 2003 in a supervisory capacity, most recently as Staff Educator and Infection Control. She also agreed to fill in as interim director of nursing.

Seeing how well Garner handled those extra duties, Sue Lemon, executive director of MapleCreek, offered the regular position to her, and Garner accepted. “She is no longer considered interim,” Lemon said. “I appreciate Latrice’s hard work and dedication in fulfilling the interim Director of Nursing role.”

Garner loves what she does. “At MapleCreek, I get to work with all types of people, to see the elderly come in and be with their families as they go through this struggle of ailing parents.”

Born in Arkansas and raised in Gary, Indiana, Garner and her family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, her freshman year of high school. Having healthcare professionals in her family influenced her interest in the field. “I decided to pursue nursing when I was admitted into the hospital, and the care I received was not the greatest,” she said. “And from that moment on, I said, ‘I’m going to make a difference and become a nurse.’”

 Garner graduated from the LPN program at Grand Rapids Community College in 2002. She started at MapleCreek in 2003, and decided to go back to school. “I wanted to do more,” she said. “I wanted to be in the community, educating people.” Garner earned her RN degree from GRCC in 2008. In addition to her job at MapleCreek , she worked in a hospital and did medical research and intensive care. (PHOTO: Latrice Garner, right, speaks with staff member and resident)

When the position for staff educator opened at The Lodge, she applied and was offered the position. In 2009, she went back to school at Ferris State University for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Garner anticipates graduating this year, 2011, and wants to go on. “My goal is to get my Master of Science in Nursing,” she said. And MapleCreek and its residents will benefit from her learning and experience.