Honoring 40 years of Service-Sharon "Sam" McKinney

Forty years is more than a number.
It’s a lifetime of moments - steady hands, calm voices, hard decisions, quiet victories, and compassion shown when it mattered most.

Today, we celebrated Sharon "Sam" McKinney, who marks 40 years of service with Carilion and will retire in January 2026, closing an extraordinary chapter that began with a dream of working in the Emergency Department and became a calling lived out every single day.

Across four decades in the CRMH Emergency Department, Sam has worn many hats; staff nurse, preceptor, forensic nurse, charge nurse, CTL, educator, and mentor. Through countless changes in policy, protocol, staffing, and leadership, one thing never wavered: her unwavering belief in treating every patient like family. That principle guided her practice, shaped those she mentored, and defined the nurse and leader so many of us admire.

In the final chapter of her career, Sam served as an Emergency Department educator, a role that may be one of her most enduring contributions. She provided the foundation for countless ED nurses at the very start of their careers-welcoming new graduates, building confidence, and setting the standard for emergency nursing excellence. Many of the nurses caring for patients today took their first steps in the ED under Sam’s guidance, carrying forward the lessons, compassion, and calm she so naturally modeled.

Sam has witnessed the full spectrum of humanity- welcoming new life into the world, walking alongside families in their hardest goodbyes, and carrying those moments with grace, humility, and deep compassion. The Emergency Department is not an easy place, but Sam understood both its challenges and its profound rewards-and she made it better simply by being there.

Her legacy isn’t just measured in years of service, roles held, or lives touched- it’s found in the culture of care, kindness, and dedication she leaves behind. The impact of her work will continue through the countless colleagues she supported, taught, and inspired.

Thank you, Sam, for 40 remarkable years of service, heart, and light. Carilion, and especially the ED, is better because of you. We wish you endless joy, health, and time for all that comes next. 💙