Lynn Riggs retiring from Nursing Service after 33 years
Tue, 02/19/2019 - 12:04pm
admin
By:
Karen Edelbach
Lynn Riggs will be retiring from Clearwater County Nursing Service in Bagley in March after being on the job there for 33 years.
Thirty-three years is a long time to be at one job, but the reason Lynn is retiring from her employment is not from being tired, ill health, or any number of other reasons that one could think of. It is simply that she is going to have a very special new job.
“When I retire, I will babysit my new granddaughter, Tenley, who is three weeks old,” Lynn says with a big smile on her face. (Tenley is daughter of her son Tom and his wife Karla. She was three weeks old in January when this interview was done.)
Born in Bagley, Lynn attended school in Shevlin and then went to the Itasca one-room school house for the sixth grade. She graduated from Bagley High School in 1973 and proceeded to go to the vocational school in Brainerd where she trained to be a Medical Secretary.
She worked in the hospital and clinics in Park Rapids for about 10 years before returning to the Itasca area where she took the job at Nursing Service, beginning in 1986.
“I liked the feeling that I was helping people,” she said when asked what got her interested in the medical field. “But I didn't want to be a nurse because I don't like the blood!”
“At the time I applied, I didn't know what Home Care and Public Health were, which is a big part of what is done in Clearwater County Nursing Service. I started out with transcription. That has all changed now, and I do a little bit of everything. Hospice became part of the nursing service in 1995.”
Lynn works with Hospice, doing record keeping, fund raising, and coordination of services.
In the Home Care area, she is responsible for reviewing of reports from the nurses, ordering of supplies, and more than once has helped push a Home Health Care worker out of the ditch!
Public Health, the other arm of Nursing Service, is a broad area that promotes healthy behaviors and wellness in the community.
One of the things Lynn does, and a favorite part of her duties, is teaching bicycle safety to the third grade classrooms.
“The kids at school are so honest and eager. By then the kids are getting more independent, so I teach them how to ride safely, and prevent injury.”
There are 80 third graders in Bagley, and 30 in Clearbrook. They make up posters and write thank you notes to Lynn, which are a delight to her. She keeps a large collection of them and eagerly got several out for her own “show and tell”.
They also conduct Wellness Clinics with various businesses in the County, and do flu shot clinics too.
One of the tasks Lynn finds distressing about her job is the great deal of paperwork that is necessary.
“The amount of paper work we do has changed immensely over the years. Actually when Nursing Service started, patient records were kept on index cards – the contact information, the vital signs, patient notes and concerns. One card would contain several visits. Now, before admitted there is a 50 page booklet that needs to be filled out because of regulations, and to prevent fraud, which is more of a problem in bigger city areas.” A patient chart can fill a box.
“Before, we had more personal time to spend with patients during our visits with them. Now the amount of documentation takes away from the amount of time there is to spend talking with them. But the goal is the same in the end, to keep clients safely in their homes” she says.
Home Health is the line between the doctor and the patient. There is a skilled nurse for medical needs, and an aid who does personal care such as help with bathing.
“We get close to the patients. This is an important service to help people stay in their home as long as possible. When I talk with a patient, and they say 'thank you' for all the help we give them, this is one of the best things about my job,” Lynn says.
Being involved in the Golf Tournament for the Hospice fundraiser each year has been a big highlight for Lynn.
“It's nice to know the community supports Hospice. It is a hard task, but families who receive Hospice care really appreciate it.”
Part of her work is to help with the North Country Community Health Board. North Country is a three county community health board which receive grants for Public Health programs. The funds come through this board and are distributed to each county’s public health department. Some of those grant programs include: maternal and child health, the statewide health improvement partnership (SHIP), and the Emergency Preparedness funding for local public health to prepare for natural disasters, storms, and such things as an oil truck spill.
Lynn has been married for 43 years to her husband Jerry. They live 20 miles south of Bagley by Long Lake. They have three children, four grandchildren, and a one year old great granddaughter. Daughter Tracy and her husband Mike live is Detroit Lakes. Tracy is an English teacher in Waubun. Their son Tom and his wife Karla, grandkids Kale and Tenley, live next door. Tom works for the County Highway Department. Daughter Trisha and husband Dusty live in Minneapolis where Trisha works for an insurance company.
Lynn is looking forward to spending time at hobbies that were set aside during her working years.
“I'd like to read more, ride bike, kayak, bowl and ski – and spend more time with the grand kids.” She will also be helping her husband more with some of his health concerns. And she says maybe eventually she will find something to volunteer at.
“I have enjoyed working here, and my co-workers are like a family to me. We are a team, and fill in with whatever needs to be done. I have worked my entire adult life. It will be difficult not working here. But it will be nice to be able to spend more time just relaxing and enjoying family and friends.”
“Letting go isn’t the end, it is the beginning of a fresh start, a new set of challenges and joys.”