Melisa Adkins, RN, BSN, MBA is the CEO of UofL Health – Mary & Elizabeth and Peace Hospital. She joined UofL Health in January 2020 from Illinois.
Before coming to UofL Health, Melisa served as CEO of Heartland Regional Medical Center in Illinois for three years. Melisa has also served in chief nursing officer (CNO) roles, as the director of critical care services overseeing ER and ICU, as well as serving as an ICU department manager along with a variety of other staff roles as well. Melisa’s background is in ICU and ER, but she also cross-trained in Radiology, Cardiology, Cath Lab, Endo, PACU and as a House Supervisor. Her first job in a hospital was as a ward clerk/telemetry technician in the ICU and up until January 2021, she had been an instructor for many years for the American Heart Association, teaching Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support. In between, Melisa took her show on the road when she was contracted in multiple ICUs while working for several travel companies in different facilities. Her work ethic and leadership skills did not go unnoticed leading to her numerous award nominations, including being honored as Distinguished Alumnus at John A. Logan College in 2019, receiving a nomination for Citizen of the Year in 2018, and the Community Health System Excellence in Nursing Leadership Award in 2012 just to name a few.
The same energy and tenacity that helped her succeed in her previous roles show through her goals for Mary & Elizabeth Hospital and our organization. One of her goals is to help the organization grow through bringing new service lines into the community, recruiting more nurses and making each patient’s experience with her hospital better than the last.
“We do what we do for the community,” said Melisa.
Having such a great team and staff is what she enjoys most about UofL Health. She appreciates her team members so much so that she occasionally can be seen spreading “Chocolate Cheer” to every floor and every department, with a candy cart, of Mary & Elizabeth Hospital. Melisa did this for previous hospitals and wanted to bring the same appreciation and cheer to the staff at Mary and Elizabeth.
Beth Engler, executive assistant-president, found the design for the cart on Pinterest. She then gave it to Steve Beisler (“Bass”), a mechanic at Mary & Elizabeth Hospital, who brought the idea to life with his own hands. On the first run on the cart, Melisa brought Beth and Bass with her so she could tell everyone where it came from because their work into the cart is so important and brings a smile to everyone’s face who can see it a mile away.
Part of what makes Melisa so relatable to many of her team members is her outgoing personality and experience. She also likes to encourage those around her to pursue their educational and life goals and is willing to listen and support individual career paths. Melisa obtained her associate degree in nursing from John A. Logan College, and both a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s in business administration from the University of Phoenix. Currently, she is in her final semester of law school and will have a Doctor of Law degree in five months from Purdue University Global – Concord School of Law.
Did you know Melisa’s favorite baseball team is the St. Louis Cardinals? Melisa has been a fan since childhood and was born in a small town in Illinois just outside of St. Louis, Missouri where the Cardinals reside. She loves to go to baseball games and cheer on her favorite team.
When it’s not baseball season, you can find Melisa binging out on one of her favorite television series, Vampire Diaries, with a nice plate of nachos in her lap. Scary movies are her favorite for sure.
A piece of inspiration she lives by and shares with others is “When you are blessed…you should bless other people.” These words inspire her because she is thankful for the many blessings she has been given. She believes that the best way to show appreciation for the blessings she has been given is to help and be a blessing to others.
“We should all pay it forward in some way or another,” Melisa said.
If you see Melisa, feel free to “Lose Yourself” to some Eminem; she will be more than glad to join you in a jam session. If Eminem isn’t your style, just wave, say “hello!” or introduce yourself. She would love to get to know you.
