April holds the role of our organization's Vice President of Nursing-Children’s Hospital and Women’s and Babies Center. She is also our executive sponsor for the Nursing Retention & Resiliency Council. When we reviewed the criteria of The DAISY Nurse Leader Award we believe that April outperforms and excels in the following categories: Creating an environment of trust and collaboration- April is a natural-born leader who role models this in her everyday practice. It is her ability to empathize with situations but still manage her team and/or staff to be the best version of themselves that makes her special. She believes that our bedside staff are integral to the success of our organization and need the tools to be able to do their job without barriers. She spends “scrub time” every month at the bedside with staff doing patient care and understanding what it is that they need.

April has an open-door policy but most of the time you will find her having face-to-face conversations with staff and leaders who need her. April’s fundamental belief is that it is better to receive feedback in person than via phone call and/or e-mail.

What is most impactful to all of us and the organization is that April has managed us up as individuals and as a team. We have moved from being known as the “party planner group” to a council that is invested in creating an environment of collaboration and resiliency. While we still celebrate individual and team awards, our focus is ensuring the healthy physical and emotional well-being of our staff. We receive so much positive feedback from staff and leaders about these changes that we would be remiss without acknowledging April.

We would all agree that we are more productive and motivated because of April as she gives of herself without reservation to ensure that we have all the tools to support our team. She is the heart and soul of Retention and Resiliency.