Mary Ellen Hatch was vice president of nursing operations for Encompass Health Corporation. She passed away Nov. 12, 2023. During her 38-year career, she inspired countless nurses, clinicians and other colleagues.
In addition to leading nurses at Encompass Health, she was also a leader in the rehabilitation nursing community. She was named the 2023 president of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses and relished in the opportunity to mentor other rehabilitation nurses and help provide them with the resources, education and support needed to best serve their patients.
Mary Ellen began her tenure with Encompass Health in 1994 as a nurse supervisor at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Memphis, where she then served as an education coordinator. She was promoted to chief nursing officer at Memphis and then went on to become a regional director of quality and risk. In 2006, she was promoted to national director of patient care services, and just two years later became our national chief nursing officer.
Education/Training: Master of science degree in nursing leadership and administration from Walden University and certified as a rehabilitation nurse.
Professional Associations/Affiliations: An active member of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses, Hatch served on the ARN Board of Directors and was elected president in 2023. Serving as a subject matter expert in post-acute care, Hatch served on the Continuum of Care Committee for the American Organization for Nursing Leadership.
Awards and Accomplishments: During the pandemic Hatch spoke several times regarding COVID- 19’s impact on rehabilitation nursing and published an article on the topic in Nursing Administration Quarterly. In 2021, Hatch was named a Fellow in the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses.
