2024 Health Care Champions Advanced Practice Provider: Melissa Johnston

Melissa Johnston is a dual-certified nurse practitioner, Army veteran, mental health advocate and community champion for holistic well-being. As a family and psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner at Eustasis Psychiatric & Addiction Health, she says she sees her role not only as a clinician but also as an advocate and educator. She adds that she seeks to bridge the gap between mental and physical health care through educating patients on the mind-body connection, promotes preventative measures and is passionate about improving access to care.

“I see my overall role in the health care of the Ozarks as that of a resource to patients in need,” she says. “The motivation for me as a professional nurse is providing relief to someone that is suffering in some way.”

Johnston served in the U.S. Army during the Gulf War, for which she received the Army Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal and two Bronze Service Stars. She holds a bachelor’s in nursing from Oklahoma Wesleyan University and a master’s in nursing as a family nurse practitioner, later also completing additional certification in psychiatric mental health care from Maryville University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in nursing practice from Pittsburg State University.

“I started out many years ago, working my way to where I am now. I have become witness to a variety of patients and how they respond to what they are going through,” Johnston says. “I realize that every person has their own individual experiences with what they are going through, so I attempt to individualize their care and treatment. Feeling that I have eased some of their distress is rewarding for me.”

Eustasis CEO A. Breanna Jain says Johnston is a respected leader whose holistic approach measures whole-person well-being. Johnston is always looking for underlying issues and comorbidities to find patterns and connections, Jain says.

“Melissa’s patients are doing better from when they started, and that is because she treats them from a holistic standpoint,” Jain says. “Having the training in both family medicine and mental health allows her to address not only the medical problems our mental health patients often face, but to ensure that the treatment plan offered encompasses measures to treat a person’s overall wellness.”

Johnston provides free physicals for children in community sports teams and Scouting America. She is a member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, American Nurses Credentialing Center and 4 State APN, for which she has served as board member and secretary.