Tina Styron: She loves her profession because of people she's impacted

WATERLOO — People sometimes overgeneralize what a job entails.

“Nursing” may be at the top of that list. But Tina Styron of Waverly wants people to know one of the reasons she’s spent her entire career as a nurse is because of the variety of roles she’s filled.

A registered nurse since 1997, Styron is a good example of how there isn’t just one box for nurses to fit in. She’s been the coordinator of employee health and wellness at UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital the last 10 years.

“My role is a little bit different because my patient is the employee, and so my work is keeping the employees safe and healthy so that they can go off and do their role within the hospital setting,” she said.

Styron, part of a “small but mighty” team of three, manages workers’ compensation cases for ill and injured employees. She also is in charge of onboarding employees and their records, facilitating physicals, and making sure they have the equipment, vaccines, and training they need to do their jobs.

For her work involving 2,000 UnityPoint employees, The Courier has named her one of the Cedar Valley’s Top 10 Nurses for 2023.

Styron credits employer UnityPoint and her past and present colleagues, but constantly tells people the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly put more of a spotlight on her team’s work, which had been more behind the scenes.

“Our roles drastically changed to the point where we were on the forefront,” Styron said. “We were testing employees who had symptoms of COVID, taking them off work, returning them to work, determining when they were safe per the CDC guidelines, and doing a lot of education on proper PPE (personal protective equipment), so that when they were caring for COVID patients they were safe and protected.”

Her team’s work made her proud because of the surge in employee cases they were handling and the work to keep as many employees on the job as possible. COVID-19 also had them always on their toes, learning the constantly changing guidelines and protocols, transitioning the hospital when the vaccine was introduced and keeping track of who was ill or had been exposed.

“She’s a good problem solver. We have an issue and she looks at different ideas and is able to tell which one would best work to solve the issue, especially with infection prevention and our work comp cases,” said Angela Broell, who has worked with Styron for 17 years in the hospital and in hospice.

“COVID was another example when she dove right in by getting everything done that needed to get done, whether that be through spreadsheets or through process improvement as time went on.”

Styron has made the most of her role, and often reminisces about the people she’s helped.

For example, a maintenance worker sustained a significant injury and had doubts about whether he could return to the job he loved. He spent a long time off, but her team’s work to coordinate care and services with different surgeons, therapists and others allowed him to return to work.

“He stops in at least weekly and thanks us for our care and coordination and helping him get back to work,” Styron said.

She knows what it’s like to love your job, largely thanks to inspiration and advice from five aunts in the nursing field, as well as early exposure in high school and college as a certified nursing assistant.

They’ve had diverse careers, ranging from nursing in the Army to working on a Native American reservation with patients undergoing kidney dialysis, and others in long-term care and hospital settings.

Despite the different roles, she said, there was an overarching sentiment talking with them — they always felt like they received more than what they gave.

“It is really meaningful work and important work,” Styron said. “To me, I always thought what an honor to be able to be involved in someone’s life when they’re vulnerable and in pain and they need symptom management or whatever they’re situation might be. In short, I wanted to make a difference.”

Her 28-year career has seen her work with children with disabilities in home care, as well as in hospice, and as an infection prevention nurse and medical-surgical nurse.

“It’s been a great profession for me because of the variety,” she said.

Styron has twin daughters, Allison and Emily Hubbard, her husband Steve, and dog Toby.