ORLANDO, Fla. — For some, giving is just in their nature and helping others is their mission.
Sometimes those who do for others need a boost, and deservedly, they get it.
Addition Financial Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the credit union, and it awarded $15,000 to nurse practitioner Vickie Cobb Lucien and her practice, Embrace Health, with another grant of an undisclosed amount still on the way.
“She is a person that saw a problem in her community and took it upon herself to make something happen,” said Cristina Lehman, with Addition Financial Foundation.
Lucien began her healthcare journey more than 30 years ago, but started her own practice several years ago, after growing increasingly frustrated with the little time she got to spend with patients in traditional healthcare settings.
“You only have 15 minutes to see a patient. Fifteen minutes is not enough time to care for a patient, not only with their chronic illnesses that they’re dealing with, but also with their mental health. I’m the type of person you have to treat the patient as a whole,” Cobb Lucien explained.
The RN-turned nurse practitioner said that she started her non-profit to not only give patients a more customized, less rushed experience, but also care for those who typically face barriers to care.
Each day, she drives more than 45 minutes from her home in Lake Nona to the practice located between Orlando’s Oak Ridge and Pine Castle communities.
“Because of their socioeconomic status, they can’t get the same care. So I want to be able to provide equality, equal care to everybody,” she said. “And I want to be where the community needs me the most … You meet people where they are.”
It’s her efforts in stemming a problem in Central Florida’s healthcare landscape which drew attention from Addition Financial Foundation. Embrace Health was honored in the foundation’s annual Community Giving Celebration last year.
And the money Cobb Lucien received will help her non-profit move from its current cramped office space to a larger space 15 minutes away on July 1, 2026.
She plans to expand her offerings, with financial literacy lessons and diabetes awareness classes for patients, among other ideas.
“This is not a job to me, this is my life,” she said. “This is my love, what I love to do.”