Name: Dr. Julie Johnson
Hometown: Rock Island, IL
Civilian Education: Doctor of Chiropractic, Palmer College of Chiropractic; Bachelor of Science Elementary Education, Western Illinois University, Magna Cum Laude
Organizations/Clubs/Philanthropies: Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Illinois State President/Former President Rock Island Arsenal Chapter (2 terms); Army Reserve Ambassadors Association of the United States, Western Illinois Quad Cities Leadership & Advisory Board
ARA Johnson is a Faculty Clinician/Assistant Professor at Palmer College of Chiropractic Clinics in Davenport, IA. In 2004, Dr. Johnson spearheaded the creation of the Military Care Program for Active-Duty Soldiers, veterans with a 20% disability rating or greater and their direct dependents. From 2008, this program has been offered at Palmer College campus locations nationwide, (CA, FL, IA) and provides in-kind comprehensive physical examination, chiropractic care, x-ray and chiropractic rehabilitation services. As of 2023, the Military Care Program has provided over $6M of in-kind care.
In 2019, Dr. Johnson began providing chiropractic/acupuncture at two VA CBOC locations in Iowa City and Davenport, Iowa to veterans as part of the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research Chiropractic Care for Veterans: A Pragmatic Randomized Trial Addressing Dosing Effects for cLBP (VERDICT) Study. Funded by the NIH/NCCIH and in collaboration with multiple VA healthcare systems, it aims to identify best practices in dosing of chiropractic care for chronic low back pain. During the Palmer Clinic Abroad Program she served as a supervising clinician on six teams with senior level interns to provide clinical care to impoverished populations in Hyderabad and Calicut, India. Additional clinical innovations include past work with Metropolitan Medical Laboratory, (now LabCorp), to develop a ‘Bill to Client’ cash program allowing access to blood tests at a fraction of typical insurance-based costs to patients. Additionally, she worked with Advanced Radiology to develop a system, as the first in the Quad City Region, for chiropractic patient referral to obtain plain film radiography, CT, 3-D CT, MRI and bone density testing. Dr. Johnson’s article, Body Matters, Take Care to Avert Musculoskeletal Injuries, appeared in the August 2016 edition of Army Magazine. She continues to advocate for military needs through her role as Faculty Clinician and via her volunteer work with AUSA and in her second term as an Army Reserve Ambassador for Illinois.
Honors include Outstanding Pre-Service Teaching Award, Western Illinois University, nomination for Staff Person of the Year, Palmer College of Chiropractic and YMCA Best Role Model of the Year. She has spoken nationally and internationally to audiences of all sizes and backgrounds on a variety of topics and has been accepted for workshop, platform and poster presentation numerous times at the Association for Chiropractic Colleges Research & Agenda Conference and the Iowa Public Health Association Governor’s Conference.