Fauquier Health Names DAISY Award Honoree

April VanBuecken, RN, DNP, MHSA was named Fauquier Health’s DAISY Award Honoree for the fourth quarter of 2024. April has been nominated twice previously for the prestigious award. The DAISY Award celebrates and recognizes nurses by collecting nominations from patients, families, and co-workers.

April, a Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) nurse, was nominated by a patient who had been under April’s care. “I am honored to nominate her in recognition of her extraordinary dedication, compassion and outstanding skill,” wrote the patient. “She exemplified the very essence of nursing excellence, providing compassionate, safe, patient-centered care to me during my time in the PACU. Her ability to empathize was remarkable, going above and beyond to ensure that I felt valued, heard and respected.”

April began her relationship with Fauquier Health in 2018 as a nursing instructor with Shenandoah University, bringing nursing students to Fauquier Health for clinical rotations. Three years ago, April joined the nursing team at the hospital’s PACU. “I love interacting with people and providing them with the care they deserve. It gives me great pleasure to use the knowledge I have gained during my career to help them feel safe and comforted throughout their recovery. This includes educating them on their illness and how to care for themselves when they go home.”

April received her Bachelor’s Degree in nursing from the Medical University of South Carolina and went on to earn a Masters in Nursing Administration and a Masters in Health Services Administration from Armstrong Atlantic State University before earning a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from American Sentinel University in Aurora, Colorado.

Toni Maxwell, APRN, FNP-BC, Chief Nursing Officer at Fauquier Health praised April. “At Fauquier Health, our nurses are the best of the best. For April to have been part of our nursing team for only three years and receive two DAISY nominations and a DAISY award speaks to the extraordinary care she provides!”