When Kathy Crye was in high school, she had no idea what career path she wanted to follow.  But after an encouraging conversation with a friend’s mother, she decided to enroll in the Nursing Assistant Program at the Mount Morris Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center and pursue a nursing career.

Little did Crye know that over 30 years later she would be the Director of Nursing for the Livingston County Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation.

Crye is a 1986 graduate of the Nursing Assistant Program now known as the Health Dimensions Program at the Mount Morris CTE Center.

“My teacher had high expectations for students and made us understand how serious nursing is. Our clinical rotations were at Craig Colony located in Sonyea and Noyes Hospital in Dansville.  (Craig Colony was a center for people who had epilepsy and developmental disabilities.  This residential community was much like a small village with a bakery, grocery store, blacksmith and cooper shop, laundry, a number of churches of different denominations and even a post office.)  Our teacher wanted us to understand the different types of facilities and how to care for different populations,” Crye said.

Crye has spent her entire nursing career at the Livingston County Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, which is very uncommon in the field of healthcare.

“I graduated from Avon High School in June and started working at Murray Hill (the former name of the Livingston County Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation) in September 1986.”

The lessons Crye learned as a teenager still hold true to this day and she tries to emphasize these teachings with her staff at the Livingston County Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation. Crye supervises a staff of almost 200 including the nursing staff as well as the medical clerical staff, and scheduling. 

“There were many opportunities that came to me while I was working here.  I was able to move up through the ranks.  I became the Assistant Director of Nursing in 2010 and the Director of Nursing in 2014,” Crye explained.

Crye is responsible for overseeing a large staff, a task that could be daunting for most people.  But she describes her work as having great rewards.

“I like to motivate and inspire people.  I try to take every conversation that I have with a staff member as an opportunity to teach or guide them,” Crye said.  “I always try to be a positive influence by encouraging people to tell them that they can do anything they put their mind to.”

Crye is a firm believer in encouraging staff to further their education so they can be promoted.

“We need to grow our staff.  We take our people that prove their commitment to our facility and give them educational opportunities,” she said.

Crye enjoys every aspect of her position as Nursing Director.  One of her most favorite part is the interaction with residents.  She attends monthly Resident Council meetings, and tours the building multiple times each day, taking the opportunity to talk with the residents.

“I believe that all that we do is for the residents.  This facility is their home.  The residents are like my second family,” Crye said.

Crye notes that the career possibilities are endless in the field of nursing. 

“It can be demanding in that some days you go home exhausted both physically and mentally, but you have to feel satisfied knowing that you helped and fulfilled the needs of another human being,” Crye said.  “And if I had to do it all over again, I would not change a thing.”

The Livingston County Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation is a skilled nursing facility that offers services that range from short-term post-acute rehabilitative care to traditional long-term care.