Karim HealthCare

Joanna SoltisUltimately, discovered all roads really did lead to home... And she couldn’t be happier.

— By Elyse Hawkins—

[I haven’t had any brilliant headline inspirations yet!] by Elyse Hawkins

Things don’t always go as planned and this was the case for Joanna Soltis. Ten years ago, it was Joanna’s dream to complete a Ph.D. program in forensic anthropology. Fast forward to now, and she is a physician assistant (PA) working with Karim HealthCare and happily serving both the Hillsdale and the Cement City communities.

“I did a 180,” Joanna explains.

The road to where she is now was rocky, but Joanna says she feels so blessed to have ended up where she was meant to be all along. “I can form relationships in medicine. There was no chance for that in forensics.”

Originally from Jackson, Michigan, Joanna got her undergraduate degree at Central Michigan University. She then decided to head to Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas, where she obtained her first master’s degree in forensic anthropology and even had the opportunity to spend time in Poland doing research that eventually formed the basis of her thesis.

After completing graduate school, Joanna applied to eight different Ph.D. programs, hoping to continue her education in the field of forensics. Out of the eight programs, there were only three students accepted and Joanna was not one of them. This took Joanna’s life in an unexpected direction when she was faced with the question of what to do next.

“I had to figure out what else I wanted to do with my life,” Joanna says.

She has always loved to travel, but at this point in her life, her family ties drew her back to Michigan. After much deliberation, Joanna resolved to go into preventive care and pursue a second master’s degree at the University of Detroit Mercy and become a board-certified physician assistant. Joanna explained that the journey to what was her ultimate career in medicine was very frustrating at times, but she would do it over again.

“It was definitely worth it and I’m so happy I landed where I am.”

After spending over three years as a PA specializing in urology, Joanna decided to move into primary care. In January 2021, Joanna was hired by Karim HealthCare. She lives on Ackerson Lake but splits her time at work between two of its offices, one in Cement City (she is there Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and the other in Hillsdale (Tuesday and Thursday).

Joanna fulfills a great need in both of those offices, being the only provider in the office in Hillsdale on those days, while she is the only provider seeing patients at the Cement City office.

In the Hillsdale office, Karim HealthCare offers a wide range of services including regular appointments, urgent care appointments, walk-ins, small procedures like pap smears or biopsies, or even sleep studies and x-rays. Pharmacy services are open to the public on-site and for home delivery. Joanna explained how it is their goal to meet all the potential day-today needs of their patients.

“We offer just about everything,” she said.

Joanna hopes that, while the Cement City office only has patient appointments and none of the additional services, that practice will expand over the coming years to meet even more of their patients’ needs. The office is also considering adding a sports physical day for schools in the area. Working in medicine can be hard across a lot of rural America, but Joanna says that she has always felt she has the necessary support.

“There are definitely some days it feels chaotic. At the end of the day, though, my team is there to support me.”

Joanna also offers physicals for the Department of Transportation in both the Cement City and Hillsdale offices. Karim HealthCare offices also utilize the Henry Ford Health System via Epic, which is a medical sharing system. This allows patients to access a portal called MyChart, where they can view their records and share them with participating health facilities. A Henry Ford lab tech is also available onsite Monday through Friday.

“We are fortunate enough to be a part of the Epic system, therefore gaining us a continuity of care,” Joanna says.

For Joanna, the most enjoyable part of her job is building trustworthy and strong relationships with her patients. She says that she has found that this is both her favorite part of being in medicine and also best allows her to serve her patients and all their needs well.

“I really just enjoy being able to build a relationship with all my patients and see them progress through their lives,” she says.

Dealing with COVID-19 was a struggle for Joanna as it was for most medical professionals, but one she adapted to and it has just become another thing to manage in her busy days in the office.

“It’s just one day at a time because every day is a different day.”

In her little free time, you will most likely find Joanna playing with her two rescue dogs, Jax and Beau. “They keep me on my toes,” Joanna says, laughing.

Her love for travel has never left her and she dreams of one day traveling to Australia, somewhere she says has always fascinated her since she was a kid. “If I could see the whole world in my lifetime, then I would.”

Karim HealthCare’s Hillsdale office is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be reached by calling 517-437-3879. The Cement City office is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be reached by calling 517-547-4845.