Barbara Fassbinder - Nurse’s Courage Against HIV/AIDS
Nurse and AIDS Activist
Born: 1953, U.S.A.
Died: 1994, U.S.A.
Barbara Fassbinder was a caring nurse and a strong advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness.
She used her own life story to help protect others in the medical field. In 1986, Barbara was working in the emergency room at Memorial Hospital in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. She was caring for a very sick young man. While removing his IV, she pressed a gauze pad over the needle site with her bare fingers. The man’s blood soaked through the gauze and touched her skin, which had small cuts from gardening. At that time, nurses did not usually wear gloves for this kind of work. That night, the patient died. An autopsy showed he had AIDS.
A few weeks later, Barbara’s blood test came back positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. She was only 33 years old. At home, she lived on a farm near Monona, Iowa, with her husband David and their three young children, ages 3, 6, and 9.
During the 1980s, many people with AIDS faced fear, discrimination, and isolation. Barbara kept her diagnosis private for several years, telling only her family and doctors. She worried that neighbors would reject her family. In 1990, she made the brave choice to share her story publicly. Her goal was to warn other health care workers about the risks and encourage them to take safety precautions. To her surprise and relief, the 1,500 residents of Monona supported her and her family.
Barbara was born in 1953, the fourth of eight children of Jim and Ethel Herring. She dreamed of becoming a nurse from a young age. After graduating from Regis High School, she studied nursing at Mount Mercy and later at the University of Iowa. She earned her RN/BSN in 1975. She began her career at the University of Iowa Hospitals before moving to northeast Iowa with her husband. Barbara often worked night shifts so she could care for her children during the day.
Barbara became one of the first health care workers in the United States to contract HIV without a needle stick injury. She knew this meant others could also be at risk. In 1990, she began speaking to hospitals and nursing groups across the country. She promoted “universal precautions,” safety steps used with every patient, not just those believed to be at risk. Her courage soon drew national attention.
She appeared before Congress, spoke on national television, and was featured in magazines like Good Housekeeping. In 1991, she was named Iowa Nurse of the Year by both the Iowa Nurses Association and the American Nurses Association. In 1992, the U.S. Surgeon General and the Department of Health honored her for her work in AIDS education. She served on the National Health Care Reform Committee and the Iowa State Commission on AIDS.
Barbara’s mission was about more than safety. She opposed mandatory HIV testing for health care workers, supported universal health insurance, and worked to fight homophobia, especially in rural areas. She often reminded people that AIDS was not just a “big city” problem; it could affect small towns too.
Barbara died in 1994 at the age of 40. Her efforts made a lasting difference. In 2005, her parents created the Barbara Herring Fassbinder Endowed Nursing Scholarship at Mount Mercy University to honor her. The scholarship has helped many students earn nursing degrees.
Her story has become part of medical history. Historians, including Dr. Melissa Haugeberg of Tulane University, have studied her life and legacy. Barbara’s faith, small-town values, and nursing skills shaped her activism. She became a voice for compassion, fairness, and safety in health care.
Because of her work, many health care workers began wearing gloves, using safer procedures, and understanding that AIDS could affect any community. Barbara Fassbinder turned personal tragedy into a mission to protect others. Her courage still inspires nurses and health advocates today.
References:
“Historian Highlights Iowa Nurse’s Transformational Role in AIDS Epidemic.” University of Iowa, magazine.foriowa.org/story.php?ed=true&storyid=2440.
“The Legacy of Barbara Herring Fassbinder.” Mount Mercy University, mountmercy.planmylegacy.org/supporters-like-you/barbara-herring-fassbinder.
Keywords:
Science, Justice, Courage, Perseverance, Responsibility, Selflessness, Make a Difference, Challenge Injustices