Boone, Iowa - Dr. Kenneth Friday

From Boone Today:

Making the transition from working at a family practice to becoming Boone County Hospital's Emergency Room (ER) director is a drastic change but it's a transition that Dr. Ken Friday has achieved successfully. Friday's experience in the medical field has allowed him to handle the increased patient load seen recently at the ER.
He has worked at the ER occasionally since 1991 and joined the full-time staff in 2002. In 2004, he was promoted to ER director.

For 30 years, Friday worked at a family practice in Jefferson. He currently still calls Jefferson home. Asked why he left the practice, Friday said he wanted a career change and enjoys working in the ER.

"This way I could stay active in the medical field," he added.

The shift to ER medicine has served him well.

"I really enjoy this aspect," he said.

It is a plus that he loves his job so much due to the amount of patients the ER has seen in the last two months.

The ER saw 477 patients during the first two weeks of January compared to 400 patients in that time in 2005. December also saw an increase of 50 patients compared to the year before.