Julie Emig

I've been a social worker for 38 years, and it's been an incredible journey across many different settings. I started by receiving my associate's degree at Hiwassee, then transferred to UT Knoxville's College of Social Work, where I had to meet criteria for both a social work degree and a liberal arts degree - it was a double degree that took an additional year. I had wonderful internship experiences that led to my first paid position at an area mental health hospital where I worked for four years. From there, I transitioned to working for the state with the Department of Children's Services and Children's Special Services for about 8 years, then moved into family counseling with a wilderness program for another 8 years. I also served as the director of a foster care agency for 2 years. My goal always was to work in healthcare, so I took a chance and applied for a position at one of the local hospitals. Within Covenant, which has 9 hospitals, I was able to work as a clinical social worker at Methodist Medical Center for 15 years. In the last 7 years, I've been with Humana as a manager in care management. I truly believe my area of expertise is care management, where we manage the overall care and support of members - everything from medical needs, social determinants of health, behavioral health needs, and medications to making sure they have resources like food cards and insurance information. We assess their needs, provide resources, and make referrals to specialized departments within Humana when needed.