All Care’s Julie Adkins Plans to Join HERO Ride
Summary
All Care Health Center's Julie Adkins will ride in the Iowa Health Equity Rally and Outreach (HERO) Ride through Iowa to celebrate National Health Center Week.
The Iowa Health Equity Rally and Outreach (HERO) Ride, a week-long motorcycle ride to all fourteen health centers in Iowa, will be stopping at All Care Health Center on August 7. The ride promotes health equity and the vital role each community health center plays in Iowa, while the country celebrates National Health Center Week.
When Julie Adkins was told about the Iowa Health Equity Rally and Outreach (HERO) Ride and given the chance to represent All Care, she didn’t hesitate to say, “Yes.” You could say the opportunity was a bit serendipitous. Here’s her story.
Julie began riding motorcycles after receiving a Yamaha dirt bike/street bike motorcycle from her dad when she was eleven. She took it everywhere. She watched her brothers ride – and thought whatever they could do, she could, too. No one told her to let off the throttle when she took her first jump and when she came back down to the ground, she hit and kept going – fast! When her brother broke his dirt bike, he rode hers and wrecked it, too. Then it was sold.
When Julie was married, her husband had a motorcycle. She took it over. Sixteen years later, she bought her first Harley; it was a special anniversary edition. On their thirtieth anniversary, her husband surprised her with her dream bike; a 2007 Harley Street Glide that he found at the Hope for Heroes auction in Texas that serves brave men and women who serve the public as First Responders. It is a Hero’s bike for a hero – and in blue, her favorite color. When I say that Julie is a hero – she truly is. Being a first responder has been a huge part of her life. Not only does she practice nursing, but she is also a volunteer firefighter and EMT and has skills as a vet tech.
Julie has worked at All Care Health Center for eight and a half years. She came to All Care in 2015 from Charles Drew Health Center as a Licensed Practical Nurse. In 2019, Julie received her Registered Nurse degree from Metro and became a nurse team lead at All Care. She worked in this role, then filled a temporary nurse manager position. This last year, while studying for her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Julie decided she needed a change and started looking around at available opportunities. But, she said, “The Good Lord didn’t want me to leave All Care.” When the newly created IT Business Analyst/Epic Support Analyst position was created, she decided to apply. Because of her clinical background and years of knowledge, she was offered the position. Julie states that she wanted a challenge – a bigger challenge – that would really use her brain. She was a little worried, but says that she is learning every day and it has been the best career move of her life. She is still seeing clinical aspects, but on a different realm and still doing a little nursing, answering questions, and giving her recommendations to members of the medical team. Once a nurse, always a nurse. She is currently working on her capstone to complete her BSN, then has a goal to get her Epic certification.
Julie has always been determined to figure things out. She was taught from a young age to not allow obstacles to stop her. “If you can figure out a way to get it done, do it.” She is currently customizing – cutting, welding, and fabricating – a 1958 Renault Dauphine and converting it from a four-door to a two-door hard top business coupe with guidance and assistance from her dad, all while her dad works alongside her, but on his own car. “If I fail, I keep trying.”
Julie is looking forward to riding in the Hero Ride that celebrates National Health Center Week. She looks at is as her opportunity to give back and be proud of what she is doing for the cause. She plans to join the ride in Ottumwa, at River Hills Community Health Center, then ride to Infinity Health, in Leon Iowa; then to Proteus, Inc., the Iowa Primary Care Association, and Primary Health Care, Inc., in Des Moines. The next morning, she will ride to her home health center, All Care Health Center, in Council Bluffs, where she will ride past All Care’s mobile medical clinic, stop to celebrate at All Care, then travel past the Florence M. Lakin Health Center on her way to Siouxland Community Health Center, in Sioux City, Iowa. In her two sections of the ride, she will cover 388 miles (not including her miles to and from home) to promote health equity and the vital role community health centers play in Iowa. She says that if asked, she would complete the entire ride to represent All Care Health Center.
Julie invites others to join her on the HERO Ride where she will be-bop to some music while enjoying the scenery, the feeling of freedom she gets when she rides, and a little “wind therapy.” The HERO Ride will tour the state to visit every community health center during National Health Center Week. The goal of the ride is to collectively highlight the crucial role that Iowa’s fourteen health centers play in providing essential care to our communities. Registration, due July 22, can be found along with the route and more on the HERO Ride’s website.