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Nedra Moncrief-Craig, System Director of Sentara Behavioral Health Services, joined Sentara in October 2021, moving to the Hampton Roads area from Alabama, when she was hired to guide behavioral health initiatives across Sentara Healthcare.
It was Nedra’s compassion for geriatric patients that led her to the behavioral health field.
While studying for a career in medicine, Nedra spent time in a nursing home. She encountered a nonverbal, bedridden female patient and visited her every day. One day, Nedra brought some ice cream to the patient, and while feeding her the treat, she noticed that the woman responded with a smile.
“I knew then that I wanted a career to make the lives of geriatric individuals better,” Nedra explains. “It bothered me that she did not have any living family members to ensure that she was up and out of bed daily, taken to socials or just talked to daily, even though she couldn’t respond verbally. I wanted her to feel that she was loved.”
Nedra continued to visit the woman for years, and after she passed away, she started working with geriatric groups and would help families complete the long-term Medicaid application process. She also assisted families with finding an assisted living facility/specialty care assisted living facility or a nursing facility for their loved ones who could no longer live in their home.
At Sentara, Nedra is responsible for behavioral health operation, strategy and growth for the full continuum of care for inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services.
“Individuals come to us in crisis, and through the course of their treatment, they get better, and the smile on their face and bright light in their eyes make me feel as though I have made a difference,” Nedra shares. “I believe that everyone deserves exceptional care in an environment that is conducive to healing.”
A letter from a former patient illustrates the difference behavioral health interventions make in people’s lives. Nedra says the former patient wrote to apologize for his behavior when he was first admitted. Then, he told Nedra how grateful he was for the treatment he received and let her know that he was able to find a job and feel productive again.
Nedra has enjoyed discovering more about the Hampton Roads area. She likes to run on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk and eat at Hot Tuna, the first restaurant she discovered when she interviewed with Sentara.
Nedra Moncrief-Craig, System Director of Sentara Behavioral Health Services, joined Sentara in October 2021, moving to the Hampton Roads area from Alabama, when she was hired to guide behavioral health initiatives across Sentara Healthcare.
It was Nedra’s compassion for geriatric patients that led her to the behavioral health field.
While studying for a career in medicine, Nedra spent time in a nursing home. She encountered a nonverbal, bedridden female patient and visited her every day. One day, Nedra brought some ice cream to the patient, and while feeding her the treat, she noticed that the woman responded with a smile.
“I knew then that I wanted a career to make the lives of geriatric individuals better,” Nedra explains. “It bothered me that she did not have any living family members to ensure that she was up and out of bed daily, taken to socials or just talked to daily, even though she couldn’t respond verbally. I wanted her to feel that she was loved.”
Nedra continued to visit the woman for years, and after she passed away, she started working with geriatric groups and would help families complete the long-term Medicaid application process. She also assisted families with finding an assisted living facility/specialty care assisted living facility or a nursing facility for their loved ones who could no longer live in their home.
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