Judy Brueck is West Burlington’s 2021 Distinguished Alumnus.
Brueck earned her licensed practical nurse diploma from SCC’s Keokuk campus in 1970.
She worked the night shift in Burlington Medical Center’s (BMC) Intensive Care Unit before returning to SCC’s West Burlington campus to complete her associate degree in nursing in 1979.
In 1980, Brueck was among the first nurses selected to staff BMC’s new oncology unit. A few years later, she went on to help start its home health/home hospice service, spending the next 20 years providing end-of-life care and family support.
Brueck joined the BMC Case Management Department in 2000 where she managed patient and medical services data records. Her work contributed to the department’s data validation rate of 98% as measured by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, earning BMC a Get with the Guidelines quality improvement award in 2018.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Western Illinois University in 2005.
She retired from Great River Health Systems August 7, 2020 as the only employee in the hospital’s history with 50 years of continuous service.
In addition to her professional career, Brueck was active in a number of community organizations over the years, including the Boy Scouts, the Danville School Board, Des Moines County Sheriff’s Civil Service Commission, and the Burlington Fine Arts League.
