For the past 15 years, Julie Hill has helped shape not only the Tidelands Health workforce but also the national health care recruitment industry.

Her success in the recruitment field – from securing skilled employees to developing new recruitment and referencing strategies – has earned national accolades.

The National Association for Health Care Recruitment presented Hill with its Lifetime Achievement Award, a prestigious honor reserved for members who have made lasting and worthwhile contributions to the industry. Recipients of the award must be long-time association members who have served in a leadership role (Hill has been a member since 2008 and was president from 2015 to 2017), contributed in ways that were significant and introduced, improved or sustained the association’s initiatives, programs or mission.

“The hours she has volunteered over the years have been countless,” said Claudia Cotarelo, the association’s president. “Julie has served on multiple NAHCR teams and served for many years on the board in a variety of roles. I am not only grateful for her service to NAHCR but for our friendship as well.”

Hill said she was blown away by the honor.

“I was literally floored when I got the call,” she said. “I had no idea it was coming.”

Hill began her career as a registered nurse at Tidelands Georgetown Memorial Hospital in 1985 and then worked in various roles in the Columbia area before returning to the beach and what is now Tidelands Health in 2005. As a talent acquisition coordinator, Hill recruits for clinical positions, including nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists and more. She also helps coordinate travel nurses, handles licensing and certifications and assists with education.

She lost count a long time ago of how many professionals she’s recruited to Tidelands Health, but needless to say, it’s a lot.

“I would have no earthly idea,” Hill said. “It would probably make me really tired if I knew it.”

In addition to recruiting talent, Hill has helped improve the hiring process through the years. For example, she helped develop a more streamlined, efficient system for checking references of potential hires that is still in place today.

Hill’s dedication to the field has had an impact on the national health care recruitment association, as well. She led the group through a reinvention that increased membership from both recruiters and vendors. The network of members throughout the country helps each other develop creative ways to always raise the bar on work.

The association presented the award to Hill during its annual convention in July, which was held virtually this year because of COVID-19.

“It was a very special moment for me because all of the time I had put into it,” she said.