SHELTON, WA – As the Clinic Manager of Indirect Patient Care, Tana Larsen’s unwavering dedication to her job and her multifaceted role often go unnoticed. Her exceptional patience, versatility, and willingness to assist everyone have made her an indispensable asset to the teams she oversees in Indirect Patient Care, including scheduling, referrals, medication management and other departments located in the Patient Connect Center. Known for her proactive approach and managerial excellence, Larsen consistently goes above and beyond, while maintaining a smile on her face. Mason Health is proud to announce Tana Larsen as our July 2024 Employee of the Month.

Larsen grew up around the country because her father served in the U.S. Army, but her family eventually settled in Shelton to run a local lollipop shop. Larsen always thought she would follow in their footsteps but decided that running a small business was not in her future. Her family were good friends with now-retired podiatrist John Rice, DPM, who connected Larsen with a job as a receptionist at the Ankle & Foot Clinic in Shelton in 2003. The Ankle & Foot Clinic came under the umbrella of Mason Health in 2010, and Larsen has been with Mason Health ever since, watching the District evolve and standardize work across many of its clinics.

“I liked that we got to expand outside of just our small little clinics, Family Health and Ankle & Foot, and work more closely with other clinics,” she said. “We started to merge all of our processes and come up with standard work, and I got to be part of some of those early team meetings.”

In 2019, Larsen became the Clinic Supervisor for Patient Access, overseeing scheduling and reception, until 2022, when she was promoted to her current position. She loves that she is able to work on improvements that make the lives of patients, including her own family members, easier.

“I love the teamwork that we have, not just in Mason Clinic but district-wide — I get to be part of different leadership groups and work closely with clinic groups, coming up with new ideas to improve process, workflows and the patient experience,” she said. “My family is here, my kids come here, my grandkids come here, so anything we can do to improve their experience and others’ in the community, that gets me excited. There’s always room for improvement.”

Larsen’s coworkers admire her for her patience and willingness to teach others.

“Tana wears a lot of hats, and you would never know it because she is never negative,” said Clinic Supervisor Renee Kapa. “She is just the most kind and happy person to be around. She always has a smile on her face no matter how overwhelmed she gets with all the new things tossed in her direction. I don’t know what we would do without her.”

In 2023, representatives from the Rural Health Collaborative visited Mason Health to observe processes within the Patient Connect Center. Larsen impressed the visitors with her resident expertise, her honesty and her transparency, said Mason Health Chief Operating Officer Mark Batty.

“Being located in a building away from the hospital, Larsen’s efforts often go unnoticed,” Batty said. “However, if you asked those she interacts with most closely and even individuals similar to those from the visiting rural hospital, you would hear about the value Larsen brings to Mason Health and how easy things appear through her hard work.”

Larsen loves spending time with her family, including five grandchildren, reading and doing puzzles.

Mason Health, Public Hospital District No. 1 of Mason County is ISO 9001 Quality Management System certified by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and is a licensed and accredited acute care hospital with a level four emergency trauma designation. Mason General Hospital and Mason Clinic are ENERGY STAR® certified and Mason Health is the recipient of three Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Partner for Change Awards, two Greening the Operating Room Awards and the Making Medicine Mercury Free Award. To learn more about Mason Health’s sustainability efforts, visit https://www.masonhealth.com/about/sustainability-environmental-stewardship. There are more than 100 physicians on staff in 19 specialties. For more information or to find a health care provider, visit www.masongeneral.com. To learn more about DNV, visit www.dnv.com/healthcare.