We are pleased to share that Iona Nurse Practitioner Fiona Druy has been awarded the 2019 American Association of Nurse Practitioners State Award for Excellence. This prestigious award, established in 1991, is given annually to a dedicated nurse practitioner in each state who demonstrates excellence in their area of clinical practice.

Here at Iona, we all know Fiona as a team player who has worked endlessly for the past 32 years to ensure a better life for older adults in the District.

Clinicians across the city’s lead agencies call Fiona for help with their most challenging cases, often related to issues of client capacity and the need for a guardianship intervention, or eviction prevention. Fiona is also the chair of the Protective Arrangement Evaluation Panel and is very active on the Elder Abuse Prevention Committee.

In addition to her work with the lead agencies, Fiona was the first Nurse Practitioner appointed as a court examiner for the DC Probate Court to determine functional and cognitive capacity of adults in guardianship proceedings. She has been appointed in more than 600 intervention proceedings, and she is also on the panel for orientation for new examiners.

Fiona has been an instructor in Gerontology courses at Catholic University and has been a preceptor for Graduate Nurse Program students there for the last 10 years.

In honor of this recognition, we asked our team to share what makes Fiona such a valuable part of our team and advocate in the community.

Here are their sentiments:

• Fiona, you are a fierce advocate for the older adult community at large, as well as the individual. You represent Iona in a most positive light.
• You are always able to parse out the details of the most complex cases and solve the mystery of what the situation is and what needs to be done. In another life, Fiona has often said she would have liked detective work, and she would have been good at it!
• Fiona, your respect for the individual person, your insight, and your willingness to always go the extra mile makes us so appreciative that you are a member of the Iona team.
• You are an endless wealth of wisdom and knowledge (medical, legal, ethical) and your constant support of each of the team members as they approach challenging cases is a great comfort to us. You are the voice of reason.
• My operating principle related to Fiona is if she tells me to do something, I do it.
• We feel that there is no problem that you cannot tackle. Give Fiona a task and it is done! In looking back on all the direst cases of clients living in terrible conditions-there is no job too messy or too dirty or laborious.
• We always can count on you to remain upbeat and positive.
• Fiona manages, with grace, to be a wonderful listener even if she has heard the same thing a hundred times.
• Fiona, you make people feel special and cared for. You are a true leader.
• One client shared how Fiona jumped into action to help her navigate financial challenges after the recession.

“At my low point, I told Fiona, ‘I shouldn’t have gotten into this mess.’ Her response made me feel better. She said: ‘This could have happened to my own mother.’ ou can read her whole story here.

Congratulations, Fiona! You deserve to be recognized for all you do.