Symposium Chair

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER JUANITA T. HOPKINS
Nurse Corps, United States Navy
Naval Health Clinic Lemoore

Lieutenant Commander Hopkins grew up as an Army “military brat”. She graduated with honors from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Fl. and was commissioned as a naval officer in April 2008 via the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. Hopkins’ first duty assignment was at Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) working in the Mental Health Department. She worked for three years on the inpatient Mental Health acute and step-down units serving as Charge Nurse, Scheduling Officer, and Chart Audit Officer and moved to the outpatient section as the Senior Nurse Officer (SNO) for one year. During her tenure at NMCSD, Hopkins was actively involved with the Leadership Sub-Committee of the Nursing Staff (LCONS) where she served as a charter member. Hopkins reported to Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton as a staff nurse and was subsequently selected to serve as the permanent charge nurse on the medical-surgical unit. Less than one year later, Hopkins was selected by the Senior Nurse Executive (SNE) to assume the dual role as the Division Officer/Clinic Manager for the Pediatric Medical Homeport Clinic with an enrollment of over 8,000 patients, a decentralized call center, and oversight of over 40 staff members to include both military and civilian ancillary staff and providers. While serving in this role, Hopkins was integral in the success of the department’s Joint Commission visit, improved access-to-care, and seamless transition to the new facility in December 2014 with no interruption in patient care. She also served as the president for the Camp Pendleton Nurses Association and assisted in planning the command’s first Officer and Senior Enlisted Khaki Dining Out. 

Hopkins reported to Naval Health Clinic Hawaii (NHCH) in August 2015 where she served as the Department Head for Medical Management and was responsible for the leadership and oversight of four diverse sub-departments within, Utilization Management, Referral Management, Case Management, and Disease Management. She managed a $12 thousand dollar total budget/OPTAR and 11 personnel that provided support to 49,000 beneficiaries in the Pacific Region. Hopkins also served as the Clinic Manager for both the Physical Therapy/Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Team (SMART) and Mental Health Clinics at four geographically dispersed clinics. During her tenure, she was selected as the Wardroom President which she held for two years and remained active serving as the Social Chair for the remainder of her time at NHCH. Hopkins remained active in the command serving as the Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program (MECP) Coordinator, Command Managed Equal Opportunity (CMEO) Program Manager, and an active member of multiple command and enhanced Multi-Service (eMSM) Market committees/working groups.