Tracy has spent most of that career with Sentara, recently celebrating her 20-year work anniversary. She has tapped into Sentara’s tuition assistance program to earn her BSN and is currently an orthopedic/spine patient navigator at Sentara Obici Hospital.

“From start to finish, I am there to listen, educate, encourage, nurture, problem-solve and advocate for my patients and their families during what can be a stressful experience,” she explains.

In 2009, Tracey’s world came crashing down when she tragically lost her 16-year-old son Cody in an automobile accident. She and her husband Kenneth were immensely thankful for the love and support from Sentara and their hometown community of Ivor. When Tracey returned to work after six months, she was invited to join a new team charged with transforming the process of care for joint replacement patients.

“As I reflect on that incredibly difficult time, this role and responsibility gave me a new purpose to be thankful for,” Tracey says. “I was able to focus on something other than my overwhelming grief with much support and encouragement from my family as well as my Obici family.”

She played an instrumental role, helping develop a process later adopted by the whole system and eventually adapted to spine care. The team also won a CEO Award for launching the Sentara OrthoJoint Center.

While Tracey is passionate about helping her patients, she also devotes significant time to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She has volunteered with the organization for 25 years, inspired by her daughter Kelly’s diagnosis at the age of two. Tracey and her husband, Kenneth, were high school sweethearts and will soon celebrate their daughter’s wedding.