Jobs have changed in hospital’s 100 years

   Maggie Peterson couldn’t help but laugh when she was asked about what her job looked like 100 years ago when Mercy Medical Center-New Hampton opened.   “That’s easy,” she said, “because it didn’t exist. Really, even 20 years ago, you didn’t see a lot of athletic trainers.”   And in a sense, as New Hampton’s hospital gets set to celebrate a century in business, Peterson is a microcosm of health care. In short, it’s always changing.   Peterson is one of Mercy’s newest employees; her tenure as the hospital’s athletic trainer and wellness coordinator began last October, but in a way, she’s familiar with Mercy.   Her mother, Pat Atherton, has been a longtime nurse at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa in Mason City, and an aunt has worked for years at a Mercy facility in Des Moines.   Peterson said she loves her job, even if she has to walk a tightrope at times, especially when it comes to student-athletes she treats.   “They’re competitive,” she said, “so they want to get right back on the field, the diamond, the mat, the court, whatever it is. My job is to help them do that, but to also make sure we do it in a safe way.”
   For the full story, please see the July 25 Tribune.