The Legacy of Barbara Herring Fassbinder

Barbara Herring Fassbinder

Barb was born in 1953, the fourth of Jim and Ethel Herring's eight children. Even as a child, she wanted to be a nurse and the dream seemed to grow as she grew.

After graduating from Regis High School, Barb enrolled as a nursing student at Mount Mercy, where she received an excellent foundation to transfer and graduate from the University of Iowa in 1975 with an RN/BSN. She began her nursing career at the University of Iowa Hospitals before relocating to Northeast Iowa with her husband, Dave Fassbinder. She worked the night shift at the hospital in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, to balance a busy schedule with her growing family.

One hot August night, a very sick man was brought into the emergency room. As she and the rest of the staff worked over this dying patient, Barb was infected with the AIDS virus. The year was 1986 and the routine wearing of gloves was not in place. She removed an IV line and used the standard procedure of placing a 2x2 gauze pad over the site and applying pressure. A small amount of the patient's blood soaked through the pad and onto her fingers—fingers that had small cuts from gardening—and thus into her blood stream. In spite of their efforts, the young man died.

Barb was one of the first health care workers in the country to be so exposed. Due to the amount of prejudice toward people with AIDS at that time, Barb kept her condition secret, sharing her story only with close family and doctors. The burden of secrecy made the suffering harder. She could see that many health care workers were not wearing gloves or taking other precautions—so in 1990, she went public hoping that sharing her story would help others avoid her fate.

She became a strong advocate of universal precautions and spoke to many health care groups throughout the country. Their wonderful response gave her strength and purpose. She appeared before Congress regarding AIDS issues and was often in the media. She received national recognition in 1992 by the Surgeon General and the Department of Health for her efforts in AIDS education. She was honored as Iowa Nurse of the Year in 1991 by the Iowa Nurses Association and the American Nurses Association for her courage and commitment to AIDS education and public welfare. Barb served on the National Health Care Reform Committee and Iowa State Commission on AIDS.

Barb died in 1994 at the age of 40. Her legacy of courage and concern for others has been a precious gift to the many lives she has touched.

Barb's parents, Jim and Ethel Herring, reinforced her legacy by establishing the Barbara Herring Fassbinder Endowed Nursing Scholarship at Mount Mercy in 2005. Ethel had earned a bachelor's degree from Mount Mercy and knew Mount Mercy's outstanding reputation for nursing education. Jim and Ethel found a way to honor Barb's contribution to nursing—and for the past 15 years, her scholarship has given Mount Mercy students access to exceptional nursing education.

As you consider how to distribute the assets you have accumulated over your lifetime, Mount Mercy can help you make a lasting impact through education. Contact Lonna Drewelow at 319-286-4408 or ldrewelow@mtmercy.edu to discuss a charitable plan that reflects your priorities well beyond your lifetime.