Meet Judy Bullard, clinical quality specialist and administrative assistant for UofL Health – Stroke at UofL Health – UofL Hospital. Judy has been with UofL Health for 26 years with 18 of those years spent working with the Stroke program.
Judy’s role has evolved with the needs of the Stroke program. In her administrative position, she facilitates the needs of attending and advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) providers along with the stroke director, educator, and coordinator. She recruits University of Louisville stroke providers and nursing staff to work at health fairs and provide stroke education to the community. These events could not happen without her coordination and execution.
One of the most meaningful parts of her role is being a certified care collaborative coach via Kentucky Public Health, and being part of the At Home Clinic, which is a multidisciplinary clinic made up of providers from UofL Health – Stroke, Sullivan School of Pharmacy and Family Health Centers. Funded by a grant program awarded through the Kentucky Department for Public Health Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program (HDSP), this clinic is hosted once a week at a Family Health Centers facility and provides participants with their own blood pressure cuff and are instructed on how to obtain accurate measurements and charting numbers using three color-coded charting (normal, caution and high) categories. The APRN, pharmacist and health education coach discuss lifestyle choices and risk reduction strategies with the individual. This does not describe all she is responsible for but highlights meaningful parts of her roles in this program.
Throughout her journey with UofL Health, Judy has enjoyed watching the organization become more diverse, inclusive, and embracing a culture of respect toward the employees.
“I want our organization to continue focusing on expanding our outreach to Medically Underserved Areas in Louisville and sharing our mission and resources across the state,” Judy said.
In her role, she feels fortunate to live out the UofL Health mission by coordinating and participating in stroke outreach within the Louisville community and within our hospitals. Each day, she gets to work with an awesome team of providers and clinical staff that are always willing to do whatever is needed to go out and provide stroke education, warning signs, risks, and prevention. Whether local health fairs, churches, baseball games, fire departments, nursing home facilities or at our stroke support groups, wherever they are needed the Stroke team will be there.
Since 2006, the Stroke team has been at the Kentucky State Fair to provide attendees with information about stroke risk factors, blood pressure management and warning signs. As a newly formed program, Kerri Remmel, M.D., felt it would be a wonderful opportunity for community involvement. Judy has personally volunteered for 16 years and enjoys talking to the different people who stop by and listening to their stories.
A favorite memory of Judy’s from fairs past was in the early years of stroke participating at the fair. The team handed out nice UofL Health – Stroke branded cloth bags to attendees. They became such a hot item that when the last bag was left, two ladies decided that they were going to take it home. As one lady grabbed the handles, the other one grabbed the bottom of the bag, and it became a tug of war. Luckily, another bag was found, and the “war of the bags” stopped before having to get security involved.
Judy encourages others to volunteer at the Kentucky State Fair.
“We have a great time every year working the fair,” Judy explained. “There are a lot of attendees from around the state who tell us that they do not go to the doctor often and they come to get screenings. Our booth provides a perfect venue to ask general health questions and, hopefully, to inspire healthy life changes. It is a way to give back to your community and represent UofL Health in a positive light. After you are finished, you get to enjoy the fair!”
In her spare time, she loves to watch Food Network and other culinary shows. Judy is so inspired by the great recipes and techniques from the programs that she tries them at home and posts photos of her perfectly arranged meals on her Instagram and Facebook accounts.
Born in Louisville, Judy moved to a small town in northern Mississippi, called Nesbit, to her grandparents’ farm at 8-years-old after her mother’s passing. Fun fact: Nesbit is the hometown of Jerry Lee Lewis, a famous American singer/songwriter.
Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, she is looking forward most to being able to walk around and enjoy being around people (and people watching).
When she is not watching Only Murders in the Building on Hulu, she can be found listening to Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations podcast or reading Born a Crime by Trevor Noah.
Judy is a lover of bacon. She is “old school” with a staple breakfast meal of bacon, over easy eggs with toast and strawberry jam. If she could have only one meal for the rest of her life, it would be bacon and strawberry cheesecake. Remember that next time you want to order Judy brunch.
If you catch her out and about in traffic, you may hear her jamming out to “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor, which also diffuses her anxiety when she gets a little anxious.
Catch Judy and the rest of the Stroke team at one of our booths at the Kentucky State Fair. Stop by and introduce yourself to Judy. She would love to get to know you!
