April Dobroth always pictured herself as a family nurse practitioner. So, when the time came, she made the choice to return to school to pursue the Master of Science in Nursing degree. April graduated from Frontier Nursing University in 2011. As a family nurse practitioner, April provides high quality, compassionate and culturally sensitive health care to the rural community she serves. She chose FNU based on her love of the mission and of the university history. April says that, because of her close philosophical alignment with FNU, she knew she had found her academic home. Today, she is living her dream on a daily basis, providing much needed health care services to the people of the Santo Domingo Pueblo.

Providing services to a community of approximately 5,000 of the Santo Domingo Pueblo Tribe as well as other tribes of the greater New Mexico area has made a pivotal difference to the native community. The Kewa Pueblo Health Clinic provides much needed access to a wide variety of medical services in a medical home model of care. Services include medical care, mental health services, hyperbaric treatment, dialysis, public health nursing and dental services. Transportation to and from the clinic is provided daily to those in need. Plans are in the works to expand care to an open access model which will incorporate home visits, extended hours of care and school based services.

While April is clearly keeping Mary Breckinridge’s dream of serving “wide neighborhoods” alive in New Mexico, part of her heart has been left in Hyden. She says, “The Frontier network has always felt like more of a family to me with the home being Hyden, Ky., and stretching to some of the farthest regions of the United States.” As an alumnus she has remained in contact with many of her classmates and professors whom she looks to for support, expertise and knowledge.

However, April is keeping up her own level of expertise and knowledge according to her many certifications and awards. She holds certifications from the AANP as a Family Nurse, Practitioner and UNM Project ECHO certification in the treatment of Hepatitis C, 12 Lead ECG certification and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (pediatric and adult). Additionally, April has advanced training in substance abuse, traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic treatment. She is an instructor in Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support, Neonatal Resuscitation, Trauma Nurse Core Course, and has Emergency Nursing Pediatric Certification.

April is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society, AANP member, AANP Legislative Committee Member, New Mexico Nurse Practitioners Council Member and American Holistic Nurses Association member. She has been Employee of the Month at the NM State Penitentiary (2012) and at the Kenwa Pueblo Health Center (2013). She has also been the recipient of the outstanding clinical preceptor award for the year at Colorado Health Science Center (2001).