Thanks for working here this week: Iva Howard, RN, Cath Lab

Campbell County Health is proud of its employees, and we want the CCH family and the Campbell County community to know about the good work that they do for this organization.

Meet Iva Howard, RN, who works in the Cardiac Cath Lab at Campbell County Memorial Hospital in Gillette, Wyoming. Iva has been with CCH for “19-ish years”! She began her career in health care as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in her teens.

For those who don’t know, the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory (also known as the cardiac cath lab) offers a variety of diagnostic and interventional cardiology procedures used in the treatment of coronary artery and peripheral vascular disease—it also allows professionals to provide life-saving heart care during an emergency. It’s part of CCH’s Cardiovascular Services program. Cardiologists perform procedures like cardiac catheterization in the Cardiac Cath Lab. During a cardiac catheterization, a narrow tube called a catheter is inserted into a large artery and guided through the blood vessels into the heart. The physician can then see and evaluate the heart’s health. Services provided at the Cath Lab include cardiac pacemakers, intracoronary defibrillators (ICD), peripheral artery intervention, renal artery intervention and more.

Iva was inspired to work in healthcare from her father. “My dad was a first responder with the fire department. I remember him coding my newborn niece in the middle of the night, unfortunately he was unsuccessful. But I was amazed that he knew what to do, and had the capacity to do it without hesitation,” she says.

When asked who her healthcare heroes are, Iva says: “My hero’s surround me every day, I am truly amazed by the people I work with.”

When Iva’s not at work, she enjoys reading, baking and playing with her grand-babies. She also says that she’s, “kind of a gym rat.”

We asked Iva what she likes most about working at CCH, and what excellence every day means to her. Check out her response:

“What I like most is the people…. They are kinda AWESOME! In all the places I have worked at CCMH.

Excellence every day to me means that I do the best I can do ALL day, EVERY DAY.”

Thank you, Iva, for being here for our patients when they need you most. We are proud to have you on our team.

Cardiovascular Professionals Week is February 14-20. We salute professionals like Iva, and the many others who work at CCH in the Cardiovascular Services program such as cardiovascular technologists, registered nurses and radiologic technologists.

Is there a CCH employee who went the extra mile or shows you extraordinary service? Give them a pat on the back by completing an Excellence Every Day card.

To learn more about the Cardiovascular Services available at CCH, please visit www.cchwyo.org/heart.