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Yelden retires, leaving hole to fill at Clayton County VNA

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Nancy Yelden (left), pictured with fellow retiree Tina Nieland, is closing out a 43-year career with the Clayton County VNA. (Submitted photo)

By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register

Clayton County is losing a fixture in its healthcare community, as longtime nurse Nancy Yelden is set to retire after devoting 43 years to furthering public health. 

The decision was a difficult one, but a new chapter beckons that includes more time with grandchildren and traveling after COVID-19.  

Yelden got her start back in 1976, earning an RN degree from St. Luke’s School of Nursing in Cedar Rapids. A year later, in July 1977, she was offered the job of public health nurse by the Clayton County Board of Health. She moved back to Clayton County with her soon-to-be husband, Wayne. Together, they have had three daughters and farmed north of Strawberry Point. 

The decision to stay in Clayton County, rather than move elsewhere in search of greener pastures, was because the area is a “wonderful and beautiful place to raise a family,” Yelden said. 

But, there is always an impetus behind these chapters and, in Yelden’s case, it was her grandmother. As a teenager, Yelden watched her grandmother struggle with diabetes, eventually requiring an amputation of one of her legs, which drastically altered her life. The lack of home care services that are available now became a sticking point. 

“By becoming a nurse, I was hoping to provide care and education to patients so they could prevent progression of illnesses that my grandmother had to deal with,” Yelden explained. 

The decision to become a public health/home care nurse was an easy one. 

“I fell in love with public health/home care nursing…and could never see myself trying any other type of nursing,” Yelden said. 

Part of the allure was the joy of helping people and knowing that the services or care she provided helped residents improve their health, and that it helped improve the communities. Then there was the fact that every day was different. New experiences brought new challenges, and it was in those challenges where Yelden was able to grow in the profession. Lastly, it was the team she got to work with that made it all so worth it. 

“I have always been blessed to work with a great team over the years, which also makes it easy to go to work every day,” she said.

It was those team members who provided a memorable moment in her career and laid the foundations for the current response capabilities for COVID-19. 

“During the H1N1 crisis a number of years ago, our medical providers and community agencies collaborated with the Clayton County VNA, and we worked as a team to distribute the vaccines quickly and efficiently. With the COVID-19 vaccine soon to be released, the Clayton County VNA will be following the same process as during H1N1,” Yelden said. 

This moment also illustrates how unaware most members of the community are about public health, only understanding its existence during the midst of a pandemic. It goes from being an unknown to being at the forefront and, according to Yelden, at the Clayton County Visiting Nurse Association, they “offered programs to improve the health of residents such as immunizations, follow-up and education on communicable diseases, WIC clinics, maternal child health services, nursing, home care aide and homemaker services in households” to better educate and serve the community. 

Of course, healthcare comes with changes, and there’s been no shortage of them during Yelden’s 43 years. One of the greatest has been in the technology that is now available in public health and home care. 

“When I started, we had no cell phones, GPS or 911 signs. This was a challenge for a young nurse who did not know the gravel roads in Clayton County, and there are many. All our documentation was on paper, and we had to either hand write or use dictaphones. With the technology we have now, we are able to offer highly skilled nursing services in patients’ homes, such as wound care with wound vac, IV antibiotics or telephony visits,” she said. 

The years have also brought memorable experiences. Yelden has experienced many firsts as a nurse, such as treating a patient with a severe leg wound in an abandoned store front that had no running water to wash his wounds and caring for a patient who lived in the caboose of a train car. She also visited a patient who had a pet rooster in the home who would peck at her toes if she happened to forget and wear sandals to work that day, and a Billy goat who chased Yelden  all the way back to her car.

There are also new changes. Chief among them is COVID-19 and ever-evolving rules and regulations, which makes keeping up-to-date difficult. Some of the biggest challenges associated with the virus have been educating residents on the importance of following the guidelines, as well as being responsible for contacting all the positive cases in the county, all while providing the necessary guidance and education on the quarantine and self-isolation procedures from the Iowa Department of Public Health. 

“We have the best health care providers in our area to treat the positive cases, but, unfortunately, there are still many residents who do not accept the seriousness of this virus or follow the recommendations to mask up, social distance and wash your hands. Wayne and I both have just recently recovered from the virus and, believe me, it is a serious illness to have to fight,” Yelden said. 

Moving forward, Yelden wants people to “understand the wonderful services [the] public health department offers” to improve the health status of residents. Residents who “need to take charge of [their] own health and reach out to [their] medical provider or community agencies when [they] need assistance or have concerns. The public health department is here to serve you,” she stated emphatically. 

Yelden sends this message not to lecture or preach, but because she cares about the community and their health, and she will miss them. 

“I think I will miss my contact with all my patients that I have helped over the years,” she said.  

Over 43 years, the community could count on Yelden, while she could count on family. 

“The people that have impacted me the most are my family. My husband and daughters were always there…I cannot thank them enough for all their support over the past 43 years,” she said.

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