Shelly Burton, Director of Surgical Services, MercyOne Northeast Iowa;
I knew I wanted to pursue a career in healthcare when I was a co-op student working as a nursing assistant. I love caring about people and making a difference in people's lives. I didn't know if leadership was the path I wanted to take for fear of missing out on patient care, but I really enjoy being able to lead and mentor others. The most rewarding aspect of the leadership role is leading a large group of nurses to success.
Terri Derflinger, Site Administrator, MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center
My first contact with health care was when my dad was sick and died of cancer at 42. I was 12 years old. I remember the nurses at St. Francis taking such loving care of him. Ever since then I wanted to be a nurse. I have been an RN for 39 years, always leading with my heart, love and nursing knowledge.
I have worked at Mercy Hospital-Oelwein, St. Francis, at Covenant, at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare and now at MercyOne for my entire career because I believe in the Mission. I love the partners I work with as the Site Manager of MercyOne Oelwein Medical Center and also as the MercyOne Mission Leader.
Kymm Ehler, Director of Women's and Children's Services
Three years into my first year of college I realized that my life's course seemed superficial. I remember walking out of one of my classes thinking, “I want my career to make a difference in someone's life.” When I got into my car at the end of the day, I heard an ad on the radio advertising a BSN program.
I enrolled, completed 4 years of coursework and passed the RN boards. Now, 18 years later, a few role changes and an additional graduate degree, I hope to have positively impacted at least one person and strive to impact more.
Amy Hetherton, Marketing and Communications Director
I want to be a part of an organization that is committed to helping people live healthy lives!
Mary Jo Kavalier, Vice President & Site Administrator, Cedar Falls Medical Center;
The reason I chose healthcare is to help people. I care about people and enjoy seeing others get better or succeed in achieving their own goals. I truly believe we make a difference in people's lives. More often than not it is through our words, body language, eye contact and presence that the connection a person needs to feel heard and cared for is made.
I love the Maya Angeluo quote, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”
Kelly Richards, Chief Nursing Officer
As I graduated from high school, I really thought about going into nursing. When my family pointed out the downside of having to work nights, holidays and weekends, I decided to take a different career path. After working 12 years in a different profession, I knew I still wanted to be a nurse. It was at this time that I decided to go back to school and earned my initial nursing degree. My children were three and one years old at the time.
It sure wasn't easy juggling school, family, and work, but it's definitely a decision I've never regretted. I knew I wanted to go into nursing because I saw it as a professional role and one that gave me the opportunity to interact with and provide healthcare to patients. I actually chose the Wheaton system because of their faith-based philosophy of providing compassionate care to their patients and their commitment to serving the community. MercyOne also maintains similar commitments to its patients and the community.
Stacey Smith, Director of Case Management & MercyOne Home Health
Nursing provides the opportunity to make a difference in someone's life every day.
Giorgos Vellas, Laboratory Director
I started college as a Medical Technologist when I was 18 years old. I love science, math and working with people. Working in the medical lab puts me in the middle of the things I love to do, applied science, numbers, and other scientists who share my values. Our lab provides over 1 million results per year. We touch every patient who comes to our organization and provide their caregivers with important data they can use to diagnose and treat each patient.
Lab results help diagnose diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. The labs provide safe blood products for patients, identify bacteria and viruses that cause infections, and inform providers about which drugs to use to fight those infections. 90% of the results provided by the laboratories are numerical. Each number tells a story about a patient's health from blood sugar to cholesterol to troponin. I feel fortunate to have spent most of my career working with teams of scientists who provide high-quality lab results in a timely manner to help our patients.
