Sparrow ED Nurse receives Inaugural Award for Patient Care

Published: April 13, 2022

LANSING, MI – Shaneca Embry, RN, a Sparrow Granger Pediatric Emergency Department nurse, has been honored with Sparrow’s first Spirit of Excellence Award for her dedication, hard work and exemplary service for patients.

The award is unique in that it relies on data and comments from patients and family members following their discharge from Sparrow. It recognizes a highly skilled caregiver whose performance is consistently exemplary in providing leading-edge medicine.

Embry, of Lansing, was a clear choice because so many patients and their loved ones provided outstanding comments about her and said she’s amazing with the young patients she sees in the Pediatric Emergency Department, said Tiffani Dusang, Sparrow’s director of emergency and forensic nursing services.

“She has a demeanor of compassion, professionalism, and kindness,” Dusang said. “Her patients and the families of the children love her. She’s also one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen.”

Embry has been a nurse at Sparrow for about six years, with 3 ½ in the Pediatric Emergency Department. She said she was grateful and appreciative to be honored.

“It made me feel like what I do matters. It’s not just what I do to support them physically but emotionally,” Embry said. “I’ve always liked taking care of people, it just feels right. It feeds my soul.”

She said she particularly likes tending to what she calls “the little ones” in the Pediatric Emergency Department and has learned how to soothe them when they’re frightened by being in the hospital. 

Shaneca Embry Spirt Award - Group Photo

Shaneca is congratulated by (from left) Tom Ostrander, vice president, Operations, Sparrow Hospital; Tiffani Dusang, director, Emergency and Forensic Nursing Services, Sparrow Hospital; Rita Wieber, manager, Emergency Services, Sparrow Hospital; Embry; and Fran Loose, vice chair, Sparrow Patient and Family Advisory Council.

“You have to bring out the kid inside you. You have to go down to their level,” Embry said.
She added: “I’m just grateful to have the opportunity to be in this field right now. I feel grateful and blessed to be in the field of nursing.”

For more information about Sparrow and our compassionate care, go to Sparrow.org.

Shaneca Embry receives Spirit of Excellence Award

Sparrow Granger Pediatric Emergency Department nurse Shaneca Embry, RN, poses with her inaugural Spirit of Excellence Award for service to patients.

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Sparrow is Mid-Michigan’s premier healthcare organization and includes hospitals in Lansing, Carson City, Charlotte, Ionia, and St. Johns, as well as Sparrow Specialty Hospital, Physicians Health Plan, Sparrow Care Network, Sparrow Medical Group, Michigan Athletic Club, and AL!VE. Sparrow is affiliated with Michigan Medicine through the Sparrow Children’s Center and with Michigan State University’s three human health colleges. Through these partnerships and the dedication of our 10,000 caregivers, Sparrow pursues a vision to be nationally recognized as a leader in quality and patient experience. For more information, visit Sparrow.org.