Floyd County Medical Center is proud to announce the 2023 Iowa Wound, Ostomy, Continence (WOC) Nurse of the Year is Barb Ball, RN, Wound & Ostomy Director at FCMC.
“Barb is devoted to the patients that she serves in her daily work, and she will do all that she can to try to help them with their treatment,” says Matt Cooper, Chief Nursing Officer at Floyd County Medical Center. “Barb not only commits to the patient’s physical health, but she connects with her patients at an emotional level.”
Since joining FCMC in October of 1997, Barb’s dedication to her patients and profession have helped fill a vital nursing need in the area. Barb plays a pivotal role in wound and ostomy care for the hospital’s inpatients and outpatients, in addition to off-site patients in long-term care, hospice and home health care settings.
“I always say we get to see miracles happen right before our eyes. The body is truly amazing and given the right circumstances, can heal almost anything,” Barb explains. “I love seeing people from the hospital get to go home, then come back to us as outpatients. They really are like extended family!”
According to Matt, Barb makes the goal to help her patients heal a personal mission for both her and the patient. Her dedication was also recognized by her nominating nurses, Lynne Wilkens, WOC Nurse at FCMC and WOC Nurse and long-time mentor, Sue Bruch, RN, from Waterloo. Each year, the WOCN Iowa Affiliates gather in Des Moines to bestow this honor on one of their fellow nurse members. A committee of past winners of the award review applications and choose the winner each year.
Barb received her BSN at the University of Iowa’s College of Nursing and attended Emory University in Atlanta to complete her WOC education. She has been working as a wound-ostomy-continence nurse ever since. “I love the independence in this role as well as the wonderful working relationships with the physicians and providers not only at FCMC but in local communities. We get referrals from Iowa City to Rochester,” Barb explained. “And getting to work with the nursing staff we have at the hospital is awesome. I get to give educational programs to hospital and nursing home staff on all aspects of wound and ostomy care.”
To learn more about Barb’s work, visit us online: https://www.fcmc.us.com/services/wound-care/
