Debra Larabee grew up enjoying the creative aspects of learning and immersing herself in theater, music and writing.  She also had an interest in helping people and decided to pursue a career in nursing.  Debra received her nursing degree from Mount Carmel College of Nursing in Columbus and earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Capital University in Columbus.  She completed advanced education coursework through the University of Maryland and is a member of the National Honor Society for Nursing.

Debra joined Licking Memorial Health Systems (LMHS) in August 2007 as the Education Department Manager overseeing community and patient education.  When LMHS restructured some of their departments, Debra’s clinical background became useful when her position was moved to the Process Improvement Department.  She assisted in performing ISO internal audits and acted as the liaison between clinical employees and administration to institute educational components and requirements for the Hospital.  

Debra also began working with interpretive services, researching and maintaining resources for different demographics among the community.  She created reports on utilization and helped LMH to acquire video interpretive services allowing patients to interact with an interpreter via telecommunication, which provided greater access to interpretive services at LMH.  In addition to video interpretive services, Debra maintained a database of in-person interpreters.

In 2017, Debra began working in the Public Relations (PR) Department to better fit her creative and clinical skillsets.  She continued her work with interpretive services and was able to focus more on community and patient education.  She had previously worked with PR on several projects, and the move gave her the ability to work directly with PR and utilize their resources.  One of Debra’s most significant achievements in her LMHS career was creating the Healthier for Life program, a community education series during which participants learned how to sustain weight loss through personalized lifestyle changes.

“I absolutely loved teaching the Healthier for Life program,” said Debra.  “The program was initially offered as a one night class, and we received such positive feedback from attendees about the program that it eventually blossomed into a month-long seminar.  One of my greatest memories at LMH was the closing night of Healthier for Life.  The end of the program featured an extended dinner and time for attendees to share their thoughts about the class.  We received much appreciation from the event, and it was so positive.”

Debra misses the camaraderie she experienced with her coworkers and working as a team.  She enjoyed her experiences as part of the PR team and having the opportunity to see everyone’s ideas come together to create wonderful events for the Hospital and community.

“When I was young, I made a promise to myself to always stay creative and imaginative,” Debra explained.  “Having the ability to work with people who were on that same plane of creating and thinking outside the box was incredibly enjoyable, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with all of them.”

Debra has remained extremely active since retirement.  She and her husband, John, enjoy hiking outdoors and have started a health blog called Life by Larabee, which contains resources and support for healthy living.  Debra uses her time on the trails to practice her other passion – photography.  She also is considering writing a novel.  Debra’s main retirement goal is to spend more time with her husband as well as their five children and eight grandchildren.