Spotlight Interview: Kathy Girdler

Kathy Girdler is a Registered Nurse and Public Health Nurse who has been employed at Polk County Public Health for more than 20 years. She currently serves as the Nursing Supervisor for the Polk, Norman, Mahnomen (PNM) Community Health Board (CHB) Family Home Visiting Program, where she plays a key role in supporting families and promoting healthy beginnings across northwestern Minnesota.

Prior to her current role, Kathy worked as the Lead Coordinator for eight years and previously served as a staff Family Home Visiting Nurse for eight years, both at Polk County Public Health. Separately, she has ten years of hospital experience spanning several specialty areas, including the Intensive Care Unit, Post-Anesthesia Care Unit, Day Surgery, Emergency Department, and Endoscopy.

In her leadership role, Kathy is deeply involved in multiple areas of public health beyond Family Home Visiting. Her work includes collaboration with the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, the Follow Along Program, and the Interagency Early Childhood Committee (IEIC). She also serves as a key contact for referrals through the Minnesota Department of Health’s Children and Youth with Special Health Needs (CYSHN) program.

Kathy is a dedicated leader whose extensive experience and unwavering commitment make a meaningful impact on maternal and infant health across northwestern Minnesota.

The Polk, Norman, and Mahnomen (PNM) Community Health Board is a collaborative partnership supporting the health and well-being of residents across three largely rural counties in northwestern Minnesota. While each county—Polk County Public Health and Norman-Mahnomen Public Health—continues to operate its own public health department with dedicated staff providing services, the Community Health Board aligns efforts, shares resources, and coordinates services across county lines. This structure ensures families in remote areas have access to consistent, high-quality care.

The Community Health Board spans more than 3,402 square miles and serves nearly 43,044 individuals, highlighting both the scale and importance of its work in this rural region. Programs like the Family Home Visiting Program provide critical support to families with children from birth to age 2–3, helping bridge gaps in access and resources across county lines.

Kathy has been part of the PNM Community Health Board since its inception in 2013 and has played a key role in implementing new and evolving maternal and infant health programs. As Nursing Supervisor, she finds the family health unit to be the most consistent and rewarding part of her work, where she is most passionate about making a difference. Within the Family Home Visiting Program, Kathy’s team brings nearly 55 years of combined experience to support clients and families, reflecting her leadership and dedication to maternal and infant health across the region.

The Polk, Norman-Mahnomen Community Health Board (PNM CHB) implements the Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home Visiting (MECSH) model, an evidence-based, nurse-led program designed to support families during pregnancy and the early years of a child’s life. This model creates a structured partnership between families and Home Visiting Nurses, fostering strong, trusting relationships over time at no cost to the family. Each public health department receives referrals to their county offices, and public health nurses contact families to schedule initial visits, meeting families where they are most comfortable. With the MECSH model, visits are more frequent early in pregnancy and postpartum, then gradually spaced out based on each family’s individual needs.

As Nurse Supervisor, Kathy supports her team using Reflective Practice Supervision, an essential component of the MECSH model practice. This approach allows Kathy to set up a dedicated meeting time with each nurse and with the team as a whole, guiding each of her staff members in processing family home visits, building self-awareness, and strengthening confidence in their relationships with clients and families. The MECSH model also provides a framework for the Community Health Board Family Home Visiting team to come together monthly, ensuring ongoing collaboration and alignment across all three counties.

Kathy’s team of dedicated Public Health Nurses in the Community Health Board’s Family Home Visiting Program provided a thorough overview of the main programs and services offered by both Polk and Norman-Mahnomen Public Health Departments. Their responses can be found here.

Kathy shared her perspective on the importance of having evidence-based models that effectively serve both the community and the agency providing services. The Minnesota Department of Health administers state funding to our Community Health Board to provide evidence-based Family Home Visiting. This funding is vital for the impactful services they provide. Additionally, Family Home Visiting Consultants from the Minnesota Department of Health provide ongoing support and training to Local Public Health to ensure these programs remain effective and responsive to families.

Lastly, as the Follow Along Program Coordinator, Kathy works closely with agency support staff to provide developmental screenings for children from birth through age three. This program connects families to community resources and provides referrals to Help Me Connect and Help Me Grow. For families with children ages four and five, she connects the families to the school district for Early Childhood Screenings.

When Kathy shared her experience in Family Health, the core of her work, it was difficult to choose just one story. She reflected that, as a leader, having decades of experience to draw from has been invaluable, providing her team with the guidance and support they need for client visits. In Family Home Visiting, Public Health Nurses must strike a careful balance between autonomy and teamwork, and Kathy’s role has been focused on fostering that balance while ensuring high-quality, consistent care for families. Serving such a large, rural region in Minnesota, this support is essential, and being adaptable when that balance shifts is a critical part of her work. Ultimately, Kathy’s experience, insight, and dedication not only strengthen her team, but also help ensure that families across the region receive the consistent, compassionate care they deserve.

One ongoing challenge for Kathy in her role is keeping up with system-level changes, updating various outreach channels, and maintaining connections with the right professionals amid staff turnover. It is essential for Kathy to advocate effectively for her clients, and that begins with her team—and herself—staying current with these changes. She emphasizes the importance of leaning on other supportive services and resources, ensuring that work is not siloed and that clients’ needs are met comprehensively. This requires patience and flexibility, allowing everyone on the team the grace to adapt as new processes are implemented. Despite these challenges, Kathy views these shifts as opportunities for growth, innovation, and strengthening collaboration, ultimately enhancing her team’s ability to provide consistent, high-quality care to families.

There are many ways to connect with Polk, Norman, and Mahnomen County Public Health, the Community Health Board, and its Family Home Visiting Program. 

Learn more about all their amazing work below:

Websites:

• Norman-Mahnomen Public Health
• Polk County Public Health

Social Media:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polkcountypublichealth/ 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polkcountypublichealth/ 
• TikTok: @polkcountyhealth

Kathy’s advice to those who want to make a lasting impact in their community is to find your strengths and discover what brings you joy. Once you feel confident in who you are, you can identify where you fit best, whether through employment that creates meaningful change, volunteering opportunities that allow you to grow, or staying actively engaged in your community.