To be the premier healthcare provider for refugee families

Andrea Achenbach inspires nursing students to be leaders

Andrea Achenbach

As a nurse practitioner, Dr. Andrea Achenbach has worked in the community, through Linn County Public Health and at Heart of Iowa, a community treatment center for women with substance abuse and their families.

Most recently, Achenbach worked at the Eastern Iowa Health Center in Cedar Rapids.

“It was really nice as I got to know these patients in previous roles and can now serve them through the Eastern Iowa Health Center,” she said.

Achenbach has done a lot of work to help the refugee population in the region, for example.

“Iowa has had a history of welcoming refugees since the 1970s,” she said.

She noted that recent refugees were coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“What I have the honor of doing is being the first healthcare provider that refugee families see in the community of Cedar Rapids. I can interact with them when they come to our country as a new home and when they learn how our system works, ”she said.

“The biggest part is connecting them to the care they need so they can continue to learn and grow and be vibrant members of the community.”

Achenbach said it’s just a matter of reaching out to connect with these opportunities.

“The timing has worked well, for example, for the University of Iowa College of Nursing to partner with the Eastern Iowa Health Center,” she said.

“This is a great opportunity for us clinicians at the College of Nursing to take our students there to learn and see how well they are serving the community.

She was part of the Hawkeyes for Haiti project, which provides medical care in Haitian communities, and appreciates the team approach to make this project a success.

His role at the University of Iowa’s College of Nursing allows him to wear many hats, including that of professor and director of the Family Nurse Practitioner program.

“By preparing graduate nursing students, we really push them to be leaders,” she said. “I can see them move from a nursing leadership role to a healthcare leader and community leader.

“And you have to remember that nursing practitioner graduate students are different from other graduate students because they are not only 100% dedicated to their education, but they also maintain their nursing practice.”

“And of course, this last year in particular has shown me how selfless these nurses are,” she added. “I was really grateful to them and it’s just miraculous what they have done and what they continue to do.”

Achenbach also attributes much of her own success to being surrounded by engaged and cooperative teams.

“We have exceptional Linn County public health nursing, I mean absolutely exceptional,” she said. “I was able to work with them as a team and without them I couldn’t have done what I did.

“This also comes from the College of Nursing team and all of the Eastern Iowa Health Center vendors. We are so fortunate to have such exceptional health care providers here. “

Business 380 highlights some of the successful women of HER Magazine, published by The Gazette. The awards were sponsored by the Farmers State Bank.