MANCHESTER - Anne-Marie Hafeman, public affairs and marketing specialist for the Elliot Hospital, is in her 19th year as a paid employee of the Elliot Hospital. But since she previously put in time as a candy striper at the hospital, it's fair to say the Elliot is her home away from home.

She is also active in the community, from serving as president-elect of the Manchester Woman's Club to member of the board of directors of the New Hampshire Cancer Coalition to serving on the Romanian Evangelist Medical Mission to Highland Goffe's Falls PTA, where her 7-year-old son, Braden, is a student.

“I don't know slow,” said Hafeman, who also said, “I love to be challenged.”

And there are plenty of professional challenges right now for Hafeman, with changes in health care and their impact on the hospital. She is concerned about the problem of funding for the uninsured and under-insured and funding for agencies that care for those in need.

She said being part of the team that opened the new ambulatory care center, The Elliot at River's Edge, was both a professional and a personal high point for her.

But there are always new challenges and she looks forward to meeting them.

One of the people who nominated Hafeman described her as the “Face of the Elliot,” for her professional demeanor, caring and respect for everyone with whom she comes in contact and for how she inspires others.

Another nomination letter, on behalf of directors, managers and teams at the hospital, said: “Her ability to juggle multiple projects with grace, humor and attention to detail makes her an invaluable asset to all of our work. Her role is one that often operates behind the scenes, working to ensure that the spotlight is on others.”

Hafeman's most admired person is linked to a personal health challenge. He is Dr. Howard L. Weiner, neurology professor at Harvard Medical School and director and founder of the Partners Multiple Sclerosis Center and co-director of the Center for Neurologic Diseases at the Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston.

Hafeman's path crossed Dr. Weiner's because she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2003. She is optimistic about her health and said knowledge is power. “I'm getting better,” she said, and she firmly believes that when a cure is found for MS, Dr. Weiner will be part of the team that finds it.

Hafeman is a Manchester native and a 1991 graduate of Manchester Memorial High School. She says she just squeaked in as far as age goes, because her 40th birthday is next month.

She was thrilled to be nominated and was emotional about it, saying: “I wear my emotions on my sleeve.”