Terry Lerash Announces His Retirement as CEO
After leading Scheurer Health through a period of unparalleled growth and success for six years, Terrance E. Lerash has announced his retirement as President & CEO of Scheurer Health. Since July 2016, Terry Lerash has pushed Scheurer Health forward through numerous initiatives and strategies, including establishing care and services in a fifth local community in Bad Axe.
A native of the Bad Axe area, Terry Lerash has seen his career span in many specialties with all being related to healthcare for nearly 50 years. After graduating from Bad Axe High School, Lerash joined the armed forces as a medical corpsman for the U.S. Army before enrolling at Saginaw Valley State University and receiving a Bachelor’s degree in nursing. He first worked at the Veterans Administration Hospital and St. Luke’s Hospital in Saginaw which led to a number of management roles as part of Covenant HealthCare, including Director of Nursing, Human Resources and Vice President of Clinical Operations. Along the way, Lerash earned his Master’s Degree in Administration from Central Michigan University. He later would become President & CEO of Synergy Medical Education Alliance for a decade. After returning to Covenant and overseeing the Department of Innovation, he became just the fourth chief executive at Scheurer.
Lerash added, “As Scheurer Health’s President and CEO, I often think about how proud I am of the accomplishments we have made together. The success along with the high quality of care and service, would not be possible without our outstanding team of employees, medical staff and Board of Trustees. After nearly 50 years in healthcare, I will always cherish this final chapter in my career. I look forward to the future of Scheurer as they continue to provide better health and better life to members of our communities.”
Terry Lerash speaks at the 2019 Veterans Day luncheon at Country Gardens Assisted Living
During Lerash’s time at Scheurer Health, he drove the organization forward through developing a short and long-term strategic plan, which led to the vision of “Better Health. Better Life.” and a long list of accomplishments. These include establishing Scheurer Primary Care – Bad Axe and Scheurer Health FastCare (inside of Meijer), upgrading the entire organization’s electronic medical record system to Epic Systems – the leading medical record on the planet, developing new services such as Urogynecology and Podiatry with a second suite built at Scheurer Specialty Care, expanding and developing a new Primary Care clinic in Sebewaing, a rebranding of the entire organization from “Scheurer Hospital” to “Scheurer Health,” establishing two additional school wellness clinics in Bad Axe and USA Schools – taking the total number of school wellness clinics to five, expanding chemotherapy and infusion therapy services, the addition of numerous Primary Care Providers to the team, the implementation of The Scheurer Way, a program dedicated to the customer and employee experience and of course, leading Scheurer Health through the unknowns of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic for over two years.
As the current Board Chair of Scheurer Health, Brian Keim added, “Terry brought a sharp business acumen with him that was very timely for some of the things we have faced as an organization during his tenure, including the Accountable Care movement, expansion of our facilities into the Bad Axe area, and navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. We appreciate all Terry has done for the organization and wish him nothing but the best as he transitions into retirement.”
Mike Nanzer is set to become just the 5th chief executive of Scheurer's 75+ year history
With Terry Lerash’s retirement, the Scheurer Board of Trustees have announced that Michael Nanzer will become the next President & CEO of Scheurer Health. Mike Nanzer is just the fifth administrator in Scheurer’s 75+ year history. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in healthcare, having a background as a practicing physical therapist for many years. Since 2016, Mike Nanzer has led Rainbow Rehabilitation Centers, based in Livonia, Michigan as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). Prior to Rainbow Rehabilitation Centers, which operates nine treatment centers and 35 community-based inpatient residential facilities, Nanzer was the interim Chief Operating Officer during his time at Sanai Grace Hospital, part of Detroit Medical Center. Nanzer holds Bachelor degrees from each Michigan State University and University of Michigan, a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from University of Michigan, a Master’s of Business Administration at Wayne State University and a Graduate Certificate in Strategic Management from Harvard University.
Nanzer remarked, “I have been very fortunate to be in some positions that have allowed me to grow as a leader. I am very excited about joining Scheurer Health and I believe my career experience will help bring a lot of positive things to the organization. The fact that Scheurer is so engrained into the community is very important to me.”
(Scheurer Health Board Chairman) Keim noted, “Mike Nanzer comes to us with an impressive resume of experience as a practitioner and frontline leader in a variety of healthcare organizations. Our search team was very impressed with his knowledge of the healthcare industry, and even more so with his reputation for collaborating with employees and community partners to grow the organizations he has been part of. We are excited for him to begin his work with Scheurer.”
Terry Lerash will see through the remainder of the Scheurer Health fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2022, allowing for a transitionary period to bring Mike Nanzer on board to ensure a strong foundation for his and the organization’s future.
