by Jill Funke

Since 1971, Carol Nielsen has been caring for the health of others. Some of that time she served in surgical intensive care, and then another portion of her nursing experience came from being part of an open heart team in Des Moines that was on the cutting edge of surgery, completing operations while patients were in the middle of a heart attack. The work was challenging and rewarding at the same time. Eventually, it was time to start a family and that decision brought other changes to Carol’s life.

When she had her first child, Carol moved back to Orange City. With that relocation also came the transition to rural nursing. She became the Director of Nursing, but eventually found that the demands of that position along with caring for a family at home were too much at that time, and she decided to leave nursing. Unexpectedly, the Public Health office called her and asked if she would assist a family in the care for their baby with downs syndrome. At first, Carol turned them down but when they offered to bring the baby to her in her own home, thus enabling the baby’s mother to keep working, Carol took the opportunity to work from home. The experience was positive, as the baby’s physical condition improved dramatically over that summer. Carol says that having a special needs child in her home was a good life experience for her children, as well. After staying with Carol for a few months, the baby was old enough to qualify for a handicapped child program. Not very much later, another child in the county needed special care. Once again, Carol rose to the challenge and cared for the little boy. When the Public Health Department privatized in 1997, she went back to nursing in Hawarden. Carol’s other experience includes working at the Heart Hospital in Sioux Falls and as Home Health Director in Rock Valley.

Between working and raising a family, furthering her education has been a somewhat long process for Carol. In the early 1980’s, she attended a night and weekend program through Briar Cliff College in Sioux City. Later, when her children were a little older, the Briar Cliff nursing program came to O’Brien and Sioux Counties which enabled Carol to get her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. With that accomplishment under her belt, she went on to complete her Master’s Degree. It was during that time that she found she really enjoyed her clinical rotations and the family practice setting.

One of the requirements for Carol’s Nurse Practitioner’s education was to complete an internship. She worked under Bonnie Petersen at the Larchwood Medical Clinic, and it was only natural that when Bonnie knew she was accepting a position at another clinic, Carol could fill in until a permanent provider was hired. It was a good fit, leading the Larchwood Medical Clinic to make Carol’s placement permanent in January. It has been a good move for her, as she says that she likes the fact that no two days are the same in family practice. Carol has the chance to treat people of all ages and with all types of medical concerns, and at the same time, gets to know them as people in their own families and communities. In the rural healthcare setting, she gets to spend more time with her patients. This leads to a more trusting relationship and in the long run, knowing more about the individual people of the community, Carol can provide better healthcare.

So far, Carol says that people have been extremely friendly to her and she has been well accepted at the clinic. She and her husband, Dale, live in Orange City, and although they have no children living with them right now, Carol says with a laugh that with kids moving out and then back in, she has felt like she had a revolving door at home. In addition to their four children, Carol and her husband also have four granddaughters to spoil.