Spotlighting the Career of CAPT Crowley
Biography Contributed by: CDR Nichole Vetter
This Nursing Spotlight is brought to you by CAPT Amy Valderrama, CDR Nichole Vetter, LCDR Allison Gallen, and LT Alyssa Givens
From a very young age, CAPT Lorena Crowley wanted to be in a profession where she could help others. She received a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas at Austin and began her nursing career as an Army commissioned nurse officer on the oncology floor at the Madigan Medical Center in Fort Lewis, Washington. After completing the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) course in the Army, she transferred to the Air Force and continued her commission as an ICU nurse at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base (AFB). During her 12 ½ years of military service, CAPT Crowley gained a broad knowledge of nursing experience and skills in oncology, medical-surgical, cardiac step-down ICU, telemetry, cardiac cath lab, surgical ICU, hyperbaric medicine, gastroenterology, and critical care air transport. She held various supervisory and leadership roles in the ICU and GI Clinic and provided instruction for BLS, ACLS, and Trauma Nursing Care Courses.
After returning from a deployment in Iraq in 2007, CAPT Crowley decided to join the USPHS Commissioned Corps. She began her PHS career as a nurse with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Health Services Corps (IHSC) and later advanced to a position as the Denver Field Medical Coordinator (FMC) and Acting Eastern Regional FMC. As the Acting Eastern Regional FMC, CAPT Crowley provided leadership, mentoring and guidance to six FMCs and 38 detention centers in the Eastern region.
In 2016, CAPT Crowley joined the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a Health Insurance Specialties/Nurse Consultant for the Certification and Enforcement Branch (CEB) in Denver, Region VIII. She oversees certification and enforcement activities for hospice and home health agencies and has assisted with psychiatric hospitals, organ procurement organizations (OPO), and transplant providers. She provides consultation to State Agencies (SA) and providers regarding the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), CMS regulations, and State Operations Manual. CAPT Crowley maintains oversight for compliance with the Medicare health and safety standards and safeguards 450,000 Medicare beneficiaries in six states. CAPT Crowley states: "CMS has allowed me to make process changes and to protect and safeguard the health and quality of services that are received by 450,000+ beneficiaries."
During her PHS career, CAPT Crowley has been actively involved in national and local COA activities, the Hispanic Officer Advisory Committee (HOAC), mentoring, and the Nurse Applicant Workgroup Committees. For the past 11 years, CAPT Crowley has been on the RDF-4 team and currently serves as the section Chief Nurse. She has participated in various humanitarian missions and deployments with RDF-4. She was deployed to the AFB in Homestead, FL in January 2010 to assist with setting up two operational medical clinics for evacuees being repatriated from Haiti after the earthquake. She also deployed in support of the Remote Area Medical (RAM) missions in Pine Ridge, "Operation Nexus," in July 2010 and to Oklahoma "Operation Foothold" in August 2011. "The RAM missions opened my eyes to the underserved areas in the U.S. and the critical need for basic medical services." In 2016 and 2017, she deployed for Louisiana flooding and to Puerto Rico in response to Hurricane Maria. "These deployments were difficult due to infrastructure damage and not being able to provide basic medical services to the most vulnerable people."
Since joining the USPHS, CAPT Crowley has learned that opportunities are endless in the USPHS. "Officers need to be proactive in accomplishing his or her own professional and career goals. One needs to exercise desirable qualities: good attitude, strong work ethic, honesty, and respectful interaction with those around us. Finally, don’t forget the journey, the challenges, and the positive experiences that have brought you to where you are today: continue to help the public work towards a better health and lifestyle, and help your civilian colleagues and PHS officers to reach their own professional career goals and potential."
Return to the Nursing Spotlight page
