Nursing executive realizes lifelong desire to ‘rescue, aid, and assist people’ at The Wright Center for Community Health
Sheila Ford, RN, BSN, is vice president and chief compliance officer at The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education.
Catherine Crockenberg, 86, has long since retired from a rewarding 25-year banking career in her hometown, helping neighbors and friends from all walks of life manage their assets. Her job in finance helped the widowed mom raise three children, including the youngest who would follow her mother’s desired career path as a healer.
Today, the youngest of John and Catherine Crockenberg’s children, Sheila Ford, RN, BSN, is the vice president and chief compliance officer at The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. Although Catherine could not follow her own dream because of family finances, she instilled in her daughter many of the same characteristics associated with successful nurses: compassion, empathy, professionalism, and commitment.
Sheila’s quick wit and serious nature complement each other well, allowing her to excel in her dual role of healer and executive. She quickly acknowledges her near-lifelong desire to “help and care for people or animals” – just like her mother. That desire to help humankind and be the go-to “person in the neighborhood” others turn to in emergencies matches The Wright Center’s mission to improve the health and welfare of communities through responsive, whole-person health services for all and the sustainable renewal of an inspired competent workforce that is privileged to serve.
A nurse for more than 37 years, Sheila has touched countless lives in medical-surgical and geropsychiatric care and as a clinical education manager and staff development educator at a regional health care system where she taught and trained young professionals and nursing students who would bring her patient- and community-centric nursing standards to their own patients for years to come. The hospital system presented her with the James Michael Cadden Memorial Nurse Award for demonstrating integrity, kindness, and compassion.
Sheila succeeds as a professional multiplier because she challenges students and colleagues, alike, inspiring them to trust the lessons they’ve learned so they apply them to the mission of helping the sick and injured of society.
Ten years ago, she joined The Wright Center because the mission of the nonprofit’s growing network of community health centers resonated with her lifelong desire to “rescue, aid, and assist people.”
After all, The Wright Center for Community Health addresses the simplest to the most complex patient needs, never turning away an individual due to an inability to pay, and identifies and addresses communities in need, addressing health care deserts and health professional shortage areas.
Sheila has embodied that mission throughout her tenure at the regional community health center. Early in her career at The Wright Center, she ensured patients received the personalized, top-notch care they deserved while simultaneously growing the skill levels of the nursing staff she managed throughout the system as the clinical nurse supervisor.
Executive management noticed her successes and promoted her to manager of The Wright Center for Community Health in Jermyn. At the time, it was the largest location by square footage and patient volume in the nonprofit’s network. The center is open 365 days a year and features an on-call provider for overnight emergencies and 24-hour access to care.
Her career trajectory’s ascension continued with roles as the director of clinical quality and patient safety and associate vice president for quality, safety, and emergency preparedness. The theme for her promotions has remained constant: high-quality patient care and accessibility.
Today, Sheila’s collaborative work touches every aspect of the nonprofit organization, from patient care to graduate medical education and from employee health to regulatory policy compliance issues. The characteristics Catherine wanted to share as a nurse herself, she imbued in her daughter, enabling Sheila to leave an indelible mark on countless patients.
