By Laurie Lechlitner
InkFreeNews

DENVER — “Actually, I didn’t start out in nursing,” stated Denise Ostafin, Denver.

Denise Ostafin

“I started my career in HR and payroll but had been downsized a few times. My dad convinced me to go into nursing. Now that I’m the public health nurse/administrator of the Fulton County Health Department I have the best of both worlds. I can help people as a nurse. As an administrator, I can take care of payroll and other details in the office world.”

She earned her RN license at Ivy Tech. Ostafin went on to get her BSN at Indiana Wesleyan University. She’s now working on her master’s in public health from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Ostafin started working as a nurse at Dukes Memorial Hospital, Peru. “When I started in Apil of 2019 it was during the start of the pandemic. Those were tough times. But I’m glad to say that I never got COVID while I was working there.”

She came onboard at the Fulton County Health Department in December 2021. “I enjoy most the fact that everyday on the job is different. Every other Monday I do payroll. Of course, on Wednesdays I give immunizations to children. We also do TB tests and other services. Every day I look at my emails and go through my telephone calls. I have many meetings to attend some weeks and webinars to tune into.”

Ostafin enjoys looking at the big picture. “I see many different people and work to make the lives of the community healthy. Working in a hospital, I was concentrating on serving a few of my patients. I’m no longer in charge of giving meds at a certain time or seeing that they eat. But I still have the satisfaction of knowing I’m helping to make the community at large safe and healthy.”

Her administrative responsibilities are community wide, too. “I work on the budget of our Health First Indiana, spotting areas where we can spread out our resources to better serve the people.”

Her biggest challenge is logistics. “We operate on the second floor of the Annex Building, across from the courthouse. My dream is to have either a bigger immunization room or the use of two rooms in the building. Instead of servicing 20 people on a Wednesday, we could service 40.”

Ostafin has four full-time employees under her and one part-time employee. “We’re more like a family,” she remarked. “We all get along very well. And we’re able to share responsibilities if someone is out for any reason.”

When she hires someone to work in the medical area, Ostafin is looking for a person who is open to new ideas and willing to learn. “The state trains new people very well. But it’s also important that employees get along with their coworkers.”

She and her husband Steve are raising two German drahthaars. “They’re AKC hunting dogs. We belong to the Great Lakes Drahthaar Club, where the dogs gather in particular locations to show off their hunting prowess by tracking water birds and searching for prey in wooded areas. Steve has trained both of them well.”

Her hobbies include walking the two dogs: Belle and Sarge, reading and watching movies. “I’m an outdoors person who loves to camp, hike and kayak. I have three grown stepchildren living in Peru and seven grandchildren.”