My name is Ana Cerrato-Young. I have been a registered nurse since 2012 and a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) since 2019. Over the course of my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work in diverse healthcare settings, including psychiatric emergency departments, crisis centers, surgical units, outpatient clinics, employee health services, and infection control.

I earned my Master of Science in Nursing in Psychiatric Mental Health in 2019. Since then, I’ve served in a variety of roles, including at a 10-bed inpatient geriatric psychiatric unit, outpatient mental health clinics, and through telehealth platforms. Currently, I live and practice in a very rural area in northern Nebraska, near the South Dakota border and the Lakota Indian Reservation. The demand for psychiatric services here is significant, and access to care is limited due to geographic and provider shortages.

Because of the rural nature of our community, I provide psychiatric care across the lifespan, rather than specializing in either children or adults. I’ve been fortunate to have an outstanding mentor who has supported me through challenging clinical situations, reinforcing my growth and commitment to rural mental health care.

I was born in Honduras and raised between New York and Florida. I’ve been married for 25+ years and am the proud mother of three children, ages 32, 20, and 14. Our family moved to Rushville, Nebraska—population 799—where we took advantage of student loan repayment opportunities. I began working for the Indian Health Service as an RN and transitioned into private practice after becoming licensed as a PMHNP-BC, APRN.