Julianna Heckert
Julianna “Julie” Heckert, BSN, RN, is a compassionate and detail-oriented registered nurse who brings a strong commitment to public health, patient advocacy, and community-centered care. Currently serving as an RN Case Manager at The Living Bridge Center in Gainesville, Georgia, she specializes in coordinating care for individuals living with HIV. In this role, she conducts comprehensive assessments, supports treatment adherence, and collaborates with healthcare providers and community organizations to ensure patients receive holistic, equitable care. Julie is particularly recognized for her strengths in patient education, resource navigation, and delivering LGBTQ-competent, stigma-free healthcare.
Before transitioning into HIV case management, Julie worked as a public health nurse with the Georgia Department of Public Health, where she provided reproductive healthcare services including STI testing and treatment, contraceptive counseling, and preventive health education. Earlier in her career, she served as a postpartum nurse at Northside Hospital, caring for mothers and newborns while supporting families through postpartum recovery, breastfeeding education, and newborn care. These experiences helped shape her patient-centered approach and deepened her passion for empowering individuals with the knowledge and resources needed to manage their health.
Julie earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Georgia in 2021 and is a licensed Registered Nurse through the Georgia Board of Nursing. Originally from Frederick, Maryland, she was inspired to pursue nursing by her mother, a respiratory therapist, and by witnessing the compassionate care nurses provided to a family member during a prolonged ICU stay. With four years of experience in public health nursing, Julie continues to focus on improving health outcomes for underserved populations and is currently preparing to earn her Certified Case Manager (CCM) credential, further strengthening her expertise in care coordination and patient advocacy.
• Registered Nurse
• University of North Georgia
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success 100% to my mom. She was my example from day one, and she continues to be. College was very hard for me, and she would get on a plane on the weekends and fly down from Maryland to Georgia just to be there for me. She was like, you are gonna do this, you can do this, and you're not quitting. She gave me the strength to push through and complete my nursing degree, and now I get to be a mentor for other young nurses, which feels like a beautiful full circle.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to make sure that you take time to carve out breaks in your own life to value your personal life, because you cannot show up for your patients unless you're showing up for yourself and taking care of yourself. As I tell a lot of the new nurses that I train, you can't pour from an empty cup. It's so important to prioritize self-care so that you have something to give to the people who need you.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The biggest piece of advice I would give to young women entering nursing is to keep an open mind. I know that a lot of new nurses come into their first job thinking they know exactly what they want to do, and that definitely proved not to be the case for me. I started as a postpartum nurse and never imagined I'd end up in public health HIV nursing, but here I am and I love it. So just keep an open mind, try new things, and be open to all new opportunities that are presented to you. You never know where you'll find your passion.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges in my field right now stem from two interconnected issues. First, we're facing changing guidelines for HIV care, and with some of the changes in funding and the government, we're actually seeing an increase in patients coming to us at intake who are already very sick and diagnosed with AIDS. Second, despite all our efforts to break down the stigma on a daily basis, the stigma surrounding HIV still exists. This continues to be a challenge both on a personal level for our patients and on an organizational level, because HIV isn't talked about enough, so it's easy for people to turn a blind eye to something that is stigmatized. A lot of the stigma and fear that still exists comes from a lack of knowledge, and part of my job is getting to educate people, not just one person at a time, but hoping that one person tells two people, and those people tell more people, so we can continue to de-stigmatize HIV.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The value that's most important to me is what I call 'love them anyway.' It means showing up for everyone, including everyone, and caring for people no matter what their past is or what their downfalls might be. You should still care for them despite all of those things. It's about acceptance, general acceptance regardless of someone's past, and being part of the process of changing their future. Everyone deserves compassion and support, and I try to live that out every day in my work with my patients.