Mandy Crawford, RN, will receive the 2026 Joan Anne McHugh Award for Excellence in Frontline Nurse Supervision at the LeadingAge Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Oct. 25-28. The award recognizes the vital role frontline nurse supervisors play in the long-term services and supports (LTSS) workplace.

Crawford, the personal care clinical services director at Cross Keys Village – The Brethren Home Community in New Oxford, PA, didn’t consider becoming a certified nursing assistant (CNA) until after her stepfather passed away in 2008. She decided to become a registered nurse (RN) after her mother died in 2017.

Her parents’ illnesses affected Crawford’s life in many ways. Her interactions with their professional caregivers helped launch her career in aging services.

“When you’re the family caregiver, you have to learn quickly,” Crawford explains. “The aides and nurses who cared for my stepdad, and then eventually my mom, would always tell me they thought caregiving came naturally to me and that I should really consider doing this for a living. I didn’t see that at first. But the more I pushed away from listening to them, the more I realized, ‘You know what? They’re right. I need to do this.’ It just felt right.”

Almost two decades later, Crawford oversees care for residents in the organization’s 91-bed personal care building. She joined Cross Keys Village in 2008, just months after her stepfather’s death, and says it was a good fit from the start. The life plan community was close to her home and offered on-campus CNA training, enabling her to earn an income while training for her new career.

Crawford has been at Cross Keys Village ever since. She earned her RN degree in 2021 and, after three years as a floor nurse at the Cross Keys Healthcare Center, moved into her current position in 2024.

Guiding and Mentoring Staff

Crawford remains grateful that the aides and nurses who cared for her parents saw something in her that she did not recognize in herself. She’s committed to offering the same encouragement to the caregivers on her 60-person team, including licensed practical nurses (LPN), personal care aides (PCA), CNAs, and medication technicians.

“If I see something in someone, I let them know, just as it was done for me,” she says. “I may say, ‘Have you ever thought about going back to school for this?’ That gets them thinking. Sometimes it’s nursing, and sometimes it’s something completely different.”

For example, after learning that a PCA enjoyed volunteering with the local fire department, Crawford encouraged her to become an emergency medical technician. Crawford also encouraged another PCA to pursue certification as a phlebotomy technician. A third PCA returned to school to earn her RN after Crawford suggested it.

“One PCA told me I helped her decide what she wanted to do with her life,” she says. “I didn’t realize the impact I had on her.  I thought I was just doing my job.”

Career-related conversations don’t happen by accident. Crawford deliberately sets aside time to get to know team members, which helps her recognize their potential. She knows these conversations sometimes prompt team members to leave Cross Keys, but she takes it in stride.

“I feel like I’m a stepping stone for them to figure out what they want to do,” says Crawford. “Sometimes that means I’ll have another open position to fill. But that’s okay. I’ll teach someone else and will be a stepping stone for them.”

High Standards and Helpful Tools

Despite her supportive approach, Crawford is no pushover. She holds team members to high standards and works hard to equip them with the tools they need to meet those standards. She’s especially quick to offer additional guidance to younger team members.

“I know that a PCA who is straight out of high school is not going to be on the same level as a CNA who’s done this work for 16 years,” she says. “So I’m going to approach that PCA with more grace and understanding, and I’m going to make everything a learning experience. I don’t expect them to know what they don’t know.”

That approach has made a significant difference in Cross Keys Village’s med tech training, which Crawford offers to team members in the community’s personal care, memory care, and adult day programs. When she first started in the role, med tech training was a one-day class.

“I realized this wasn’t going to work,” she said about the state-prescribed training. “An LPN goes to school for a year, and an RN goes to school for two years. I’m bringing in someone who is new to our field to administer medications, and I’m supposed to do that in one day? I didn’t feel that was acceptable.”

After her first class, Crawford expanded med tech training from one to two days and plans to extend it to three days for the next cohort. Longer training allows her to teach at a slower pace, spend ample time on review, and help trainees understand the “why” behind what they’re asked to do. The results have been positive. Under Crawford’s leadership, the med tech classes have achieved a 100% pass rate, and medication errors have decreased, she says.

The Art of Building Workplace Relationships

Crawford prides herself on having an open-door policy. Team members know they can come to her office anytime to discuss anything.

“I’ve been a CNA,” she says. “I’ve done what they do. I feel like they’re my equals, more than anything. It’s important to be approachable and to let them know you’re real and that you care about them.”

Crawford believes her team passes on to residents the care and compassion she shows them. Her relationship with the team also helps Crawford have “hard conversations” with team members who aren’t meeting expectations.

“You’re going to have hard conversations here and there,” she admits. “But if you have a strong relationship with your staff, a hard conversation can be a learning conversation. When I say, ‘Hey, can I talk to you in my office for a minute?’ they don’t freak out because the relationship is already there. They’re comfortable and more open to constructive criticism. It all comes back to knowing your team and how to approach each person as an individual.”

Crawford urges senior living leaders to do the same.

“Create an environment where you know your nurse leaders, and they feel heard, trusted, and valued,” she advises. “Keep communication open. Involve them in decision-making, especially about resident care. It’s important to get feedback from someone who’s doing the work. Taking that feedback into account can make meaningful differences and, in my opinion, will strengthen the workforce.”