Michlene Mankin retires after 27 years at CCMH

Editor's Note: This article was submitted by Karen Clarke, Community Relations manager.

We’ll miss you Michlene!

That’s the overwhelming sentiment from everyone who knows Medical Librarian Michlene Mankin. She is retiring this week after 27 years at CCMH. Even though many people know Michlene from the library, readers may not know that she started her CCMH career as a secretary in Behavioral Health Services. She was also the Volunteer Services Coordinator, which at that time included Festival of Trees, before becoming the medical librarian in 1999.

“What I’ll really miss is being able to get the doctors and staff the information they need to do their jobs better,” said Michlene. “That and all the people I see.”

After she started in the library, Michlene dove back into her education, receiving a Master’s degree in management from the University of Mary in 2005. She was also one of the recipients of the Campbell County Healthcare Foundation’s Outstanding Healthcare Awards in 2008.

Her fondest memory was spending an entire night in the library with Dr. Ramzi Ammari and a group of attorneys, gathering information on a legal action.

“The case was settled in Dr. Ammari’s favor,” she said.

In additional to her duties in the library, Michlene oversaw workforce development grants, coordinated CMEs (Continuing Medical Education) and assisted with grant writing for CCMH. She worked on the Rural Nursing Improvement Grant, Helmsley Trust Grant ($1.8 million) and State Lands Investment Board grant for Pioneer Manor ($750,000), just to name a few.

There are many people, myself included, who worked with Michlene during her long career at CCMH. Sam Lang in Patient Access doesn’t even remember when Michlene wasn’t a part of CCMH, even when she attended daycare as a child.

Michlene is looking forward to spending time with her daughter Marcia and her grandchildren, and helping her parents, who still live in Upton, Wyoming. And, we’ll still see her around the hospital a bit, working as a PRN staff member. When asked about her most quirky memory, Michlene thought about it, and told this story.

“At one time I shared an office with Dr. Stephen Pohl. He was an ER doctor and did some medical staff functions. One day Karen (Clarke) and I smelled smoke. We went to Dr. Pohl’s office and found a small fire burning on his desk! He had left a candle burning in his office, and some papers on his desk caught fire. Needless to say, we put it out quickly and had a little talk with him!”

Michlene’s last day is Friday, April 11.