Fox Valley Technical College Foundation
ThedaCare | Appleton
Betty Jo Balzar is the Clinical Nursing Information Officer (CNIO) for the ThedaCare healthcare system located in the Fox Cities. She has been with ThedaCare since 1983.Betty Jo grew up in southern California prior to moving to Park Falls, Wisconsin as a freshman in high school. Needless to say it was quite the culture shock! She earned her Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) Degree in Nursing (1983) and her Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) (1996) from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
She started working for ThedaCare immediately after graduation with her BSN. During her tenure at ThedaCare she has worked as a bedside nurse in Orthopedics and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and has held various management roles including Quality Director for the Appleton and Neenah hospital campuses and the Director of Nursing Position at the Waupaca hospital campus. She moved into her current role in August of 2016. Betty Jo did take a pause in her career at ThedaCare from 2006-2011 and did consulting work with two large firms working with hospitals throughout the United States assisting them with preparing to implement electronic health record system and helping to implement shared governance models for the clinical staff. During that time Betty Jo continued to also do some work for ThedaCare in their quality department as well as pick up clinical shifts on the units. In addition, Betty Jo has worked as a clinical adjunct professor for University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh periodically since 1996
Betty Jo is active in her church, and is especially involved with children’s ministry and community care. She sits on the ThedaCare Hospice Foundation Board and is active serving in various homeless shelters in the Fox Cities. Betty Jo and her husband, Randy, have two children who live in Seattle. She enjoys working, traveling, visiting her grandchildren, spending time volunteering and is actively trying out hobbies in hopes of finding one that fits!