Meet April Reyes, HOPE’s Director of Behavioral Health

By Liz Ferrell, Development & Community Relations Specialist

April Reyes loves gardening, reading, spending time with her husband Felipe and her son’s family, and most of all, spoiling her grandbaby. She’s soft-spoken but firm, always has a twinkle in her eye, and enjoys interacting with all kinds of people. She has a heart especially for the “underdogs” – the disadvantaged in life. And she doesn’t toot her own horn. But April Reyes is a woman with a mission, and that drive has helped her transform the Behavioral Health Department at HOPE Family Health.   

April started her career in the medical field working behind the scenes in a hospital laboratory. But she realized she wanted to move from behind the scenes of patient care to being at the patient’s bedside. So she embarked on the pursuit of a nursing career, receiving her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Cumberland University in 2005.

She soon discovered a love for mental health that drew her to working in the mental health inpatient unit, first with veterans and then as an outpatient nurse for the economically underserved in metro Nashville – all while working toward her Master of Science in Nursing with a Specialization as a Family Nurse Practitioner, which she received from Tennessee State University in 2010.

That same year April moved from bedside nursing to becoming a nurse practitioner, and since then she has been working to meet the needs of patients who are elderly, economically disadvantaged, and/or lacking mental health care. Meanwhile, she continued to advance her education, receiving a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree with a Concentration in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner from the University of Tennessee Health Center in 2019. She is nationally recognized in the field of behavioral health billing and coding, and was invited to present at the annual American Psychiatric Nurses Association convention on this topic.

April became a part of HOPE Family Health in September 2019 as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, and in August 2020 she assumed the role of Director of Behavioral Health. She quickly developed a devoted, patient-oriented and cohesive team of therapists and support staff.

Since then, April has guided the growth of HOPE’s Behavioral Health program from a team of six, with one nurse practitioner and two therapists, to a team of 18, including four psychiatric nurse practitioners, six licensed behavioral health therapists, and a dietitian, as well as a support staff, including LPNs, medical assistants, and a peer support specialist. Over time April has helped to cement HOPE’s reputation among other health providers in the region as a source for offering affordable, holistic behavioral health services through integration with HOPE’s medical and clinical pharmacy staff.

 “I love learning and want to share what I learn with others,” April says often. April’s enthusiasm for learning shows in the ways she leads HOPE’s BH department, where she encourages staff development. Through her efforts, each counselor on the Behavioral Health team has the opportunity to receive training in additional therapeutic modalities including EMDR, Brainspotting, and other innovative modalities such as Sand Tray Therapy. Her love for learning and gift for teaching, as well as her devotion to her staff and patients, manifests in the way she directs the Behavioral Health team while being fully part of the HOPE team.

April particularly has a heart for the most vulnerable segments of the population in HOPE’s medically underserved rural service area. HOPE’s status as a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center makes quality healthcare, including behavioral health, affordable and accessible to everyone who comes through HOPE’s doors.

“I want our BH department to be the best of the best, offering services that you normally couldn't find in a rural setting,” April says. “Being in a rural area should not be a reason for not being able to obtain great mental health treatment.”

“I work at HOPE to make a difference,” she says. And she does.