Temporarily, no visitors aged 11 and under are permitted. This year's dominant flu virus is a mutated flu A virus that appears to make children and teens sicker than the typical flu. We are restricting visitors aged 11 and under because young children often can carry and transmit viral infections with no symptoms, especially early in the infection. As always, visitors should not come to the hospital if they have respiratory viral symptoms or nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.

Effective 1/1/26, all UNC Health Appalachian (UNCHA) teammates (including providers and staff) will be required to wear masks when they are around other people indoors.
Patients and visitors will also be encouraged but not required to wear a mask when they are around other people (e.g., in the hallway, in the waiting room, in the exam room being seen). This applies to all UNCHA hospitals, outpatient facilities, and offices.

Published on September 22, 2025

Shea Crenshaw: A Lifetime of Service, Compassion, and Care

Shea Crenshaw

Shea Crenshaw’s first experience in healthcare was volunteering as a candy striper at the VA in Johnson City. After transferring from Milligan College to Lees-McRae College to complete her medical assistant studies, she married Bobby Crenshaw and that same year began a nine-month internship at Garrett Memorial Hospital in Crossnore. Once she completed her internship, she was hired to work in the Medical Records Department at Garrett under Joanne Blair.

“She was a wonderful lady who taught me so much in the medical record field,” Shea recalls. “I earned my ART (Accredited Record Technician) degree and continued to work under Ms. Blair as assistant manager.”

That was 1974.

Much has changed in healthcare over the past five decades, not only on an industry level but also locally. Shea has experienced it all.

When she first began, CTs and MRIs were considered advanced technology. Today, we offer robotic-assisted surgeries. In the 1970’s, it was normal to see someone smoking in the hospital. Today, UNC Health Appalachian campuses are tobacco-free. There have been major advancements and improvements in the treatment of cancer, infant mortality rate, and eradicating diseases through vaccines. Life expectancy has increased.

For Shea, who spent a significant part of her 51-year career in medical records, the greatest change in healthcare has been the implementation and use of computers and the digitization of medical records. Historically, healthcare relied heavily on paper, with all patient charts and medical records kept in physical form. Today, these records are electronic and readily available to patients through platforms like My UNC Chart.

In addition to these medical advancements and milestones, Shea also experienced and adapted to the evolving landscape of healthcare in Avery County.

Though she began at Garrett Memorial, just a few years after that, the hospital changed its name to Sloop Memorial in honor of Drs. Eustace and Mary Sloop, who founded the hospital in 1928.

Shea served as Medical Records Manager for many years there and then later at Charles A Cannon, Jr Memorial Hospital (CMH) after the two hospitals merged and came together in the current Linville location in late 1999. Five years later, CMH joined Appalachian Regional Healthcare System (ARHS) in 2004, and the system entered a managed services partnership with UNC Health in 2022.

Shea's career eventually transitioned, and she became a front desk receptionist at Baker Primary Care Center at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, she transferred to a receptionist position she loves at the Rehabilitation Center at CMH.

Heather Pannill, manager of the Rehabilitation Center Cannon, acknowledges Shea’s passion and dedication. She says, “Shea is genuinely happy to be here. Putting myself in her shoes after being with the company for an actual lifetime, I admire her dedication and persistent joy at doing a job she loves. To say she has a high work ethic is an understatement.”

Shea carries that work ethic home and into her community as she plays the piano and directs the choir at Linville Falls Community Church. She and Bobby have a son, Brady, and two grandchildren, Brayden and Bailee, who provide them with constant joy. Shea also considers her co-workers an extension of her family.

“The people you work with and create a strong bond of family with are the greatest things I have ever experienced, as well as the patients you get to know and see over the years. Although I am not clinical, being able to help the patients is very satisfying. In the jobs I have performed, I feel I contributed to their care as well. I would like to continue to work as long as I can contribute to the job, and I love feeling part of a system that believes patients come first.”

From paper charts to electronic records, from small local hospitals to a regional health system connected with UNC Health, Shea has seen it all and embraced each new chapter with grace. What has remained constant is her passion for people—her patients, her coworkers, her church family, and of course, her own family at home. Shea embodies the heart of healthcare: service, compassion, and community.