EG alumni named to 100 Great Iowa Nurses list

Nurses go to work every day, ready to answer the call of duty, no matter what that might be.  They are the calm in the storm, the gleam of hope in uncertainty, and the people we rely on for answers to our questions. They are selfless and giving, going into the medical field not for praise and awards, but instead simply to help others; many of them going above and beyond in ways we can’t even describe.  That is why the 100 Great Iowa Nurses award was initiated in 2005 by Melanie Dreher, who was then serving as the dean of the University of Iowa College of Nursing.  Debra Ripperger, a 1977 graduate of Eagle Grove High School is one of this year’s recipients whose name will be added to this prestigious list.

Ripperger, as are the other 99 nurse recipients each year, are nominated by patients, coworkers, friends, and/or family members.  Ripperger said she was “humbled” when she found out she had not only been nominated, but was chosen as one of the top 100.

“Nursing isn’t a job you pat yourself on the back for.  It’s a giving profession and you just don’t expect to be rewarded for it,” she said graciously.

After graduating from High School, Ripperger headed to South Dakota for nursing school, spending one year in school at Sioux Falls College and two more years in the hospital there as part of the program.  After earning her degree, she stayed one more year at the hospital in South Dakota before moving back to Iowa and working at Trinity Regional Hospital in Fort Dodge for seven-and-a-half years.  She has since spent the past 30 years using her R.N. degree working as a cardiac rehab nurse at Pocahontas Community Hospital, residing in Rolfe.

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