Day in the life of... 

Karen Crimmings,

Assistant Deputy Director of Public Health

Practice makes perfect. We hear this saying utilized in so many situations. If one practices their instrument, they can become a world class musician. If an individual studies hard for their math test, they can get an A. The same goes with your career. You practice hard enough at a profession and you find a career that is a perfect fit. This rings true of Karen Crimmings, Assistant Deputy Director of Public Health and Disease Prevention and Investigation Service Manager.

Crimmings started her professional career by attending North Iowa Area Community College in the Associate Degree of Nursing Program. After her first year in the program, she took her Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) boards and worked part time as a LPN at Heritage Care Center while finishing her Registered Nursed (RN) degree. "Working at the long term care facility taught me a lot about pharmaceuticals and the aging process," Crimmings stated. "It gave me an appreciation for the elderly with their knowledge and the stories they share." After graduation, Crimmings stayed at Heritage Care Center and worked as a RN. From there, Crimmings continued practicing her profession as a nurse in oral surgery. Crimmings spent five years working in oral surgery and then headed into the realm of general practice nursing at Regency Family Clinic. "At Regency, I was a lead nurse, which meant I was responsible for scheduling, staff orientation and acting as the liaison between the hospital and the clinic," said Crimmings. At the clinic, she also had the responsibilities of assisting the medical providers with a variety of health services, working with expecting mothers with obstetrics (OB) and prenatal health checkups, and in the lab collecting specimen samples and conducting various tests. 

 In 2002, Crimmings joined the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health as a Disease Prevention Specialist. "As the Disease Prevention Specialist, I supervised the Immunization Clinic, coordinated flu clinics and provided clients with HIV/STD counseling," Crimmings expressed. Shortly after starting at the Health Department, Crimmings became the Disease Prevention and Investigation Service Manager.

(Every interview I do, I always ask my colleagues what a typical day in their position is like and their answer always is "there is no typical day." That's why I love writing this column. It helps our public, the community and the clients we serve better understand our roles at the Health Department.) Of course, for Crimmings, there is no typical day in her position. She oversees two RN's, two LPN's and an administrative aide. Crimmings is responsible for making sure all Disease Prevention and Investigation services are met such as conducting and monitoring illness surveillance. "I'm a resource for our community partners, such as schools and clinics, when questions arise about communicable diseases," Crimmings noted. "I am also accountable for following up on reportable diseases. If a person has certain diseases, I sometimes have to not only interview the ill person, but other family members, their employer, a school or physician and then report my findings to the Iowa Department of Public Health." As the Assistant Deputy Director of Public Health, she works along side the Deputy Director of Public Health on different human resource policies and procedures at the Health Department. Throughout her professional career at the Health Department, Crimmings has achieved two milestones, being Certified in Infection Control (CIC) and receiving her Bachelors of Arts Degree in Health Services Leadership from Buena Vista University.

Crimmings believes the saying "when you find a job you love, you will never work a day in your life" is true of the Health Department. "I love being able to provide health services to hundreds or thousands of people at once instead of just the one person I was able to reach in the clinic setting," Crimmings stated. "I am able to reach out and help more individuals by working at the Health Department." She also believes Public Health plays a vital role in the education and prevention of illnesses. "The health system can only go on so long reacting to diseases, eventually the system will burn itself out and deplete its resources," she noted. However, working for the Health Department does present some challenges. "It can be challenging at times to change a person's way of thinking about taking measures to prevent a disease (such as vaccinations) instead of having to treat the disease instead," Crimmings said. "There are a lot of healthy lifestyles that we can teach people to prevent illnesses,  but getting them to learn and then live by these lifestyles can be tricky sometimes."

No matter what challenges Crimmings and the Disease Prevention and Investigation Service Section face, her almost 20 years of practice in the field of nursing has created a leader to make sure the public health needs of our clients and community are met.