The American Health Council has appointed Cassie Banks, BSN, MS-FNP, DNP to the Board of Nurses. As a Family Nurse Practitioner for Gordon Memorial Health Services, Banks has used her 13 years of health care experience to better the lives of rural and underserved populations in Nebraska and southwestern South Dakota. Her passion for increasing access to quality health care is rooted in a strong work ethic and a commitment to equitable healthcare, seeking to guarantee the struggles of vulnerable individuals aren’t overlooked.

Banks’s interest in a nursing career began with her mother, whose own nursing career introduced Banks to health care from a young age. An introductory nursing theory course fortified her passion for helping those in need, guiding her work as she earned a BSN at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs – Bethel College of Nursing (2004) and an MS-FNP (2008) and DNP (2012) at Regis University – Loretto Heights in Colorado. Banks’ outstanding dedication has been consistently recognized by her peers and mentors in her career thus far, as illustrated by an induction into the Sigma Theta Tau International – Xi Phi Chapter (2004), a Vail Valley Medical Center Clinical Excellence Award (2007), two Excellence in Nursing Awards from Regis University (2008 & 2012), and a National Health Service Corps Award (2009).

For the last 9 years of her career, Banks has excelled as a Family Nurse Practitioner for Gordon Memorial Health Services in Nebraska, a progressive, Critical Access Hospital that offers rural health care clinics and services to its community. The organization’s mission aligns with Banks’s goals of extending the reach of health care services to underserved populations. Along with her work treating patients at the organization’s nursing home, and emergency department, and rural health clinics, Banks has conducted original research studying the maintenance nursing competency in rural settings and published said research in the Journal for Nurses in Staff Development in 2010. Currently, Banks serves as an adjunct clinical faculty member for Regis University’s Family Nurse Practitioner program. Banks also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Northeast Panhandle Substance Abuse Center (NEPSAC), has been appointed to the Nebraska State Trauma Advisory Board for Region IV and is a member of PEO International.

While Banks’ professional achievements are remarkable, she considers caring for the members of the community where she was born and raised to be her greatest professional accomplishment. Banks aims to return to research within the next 5 years with a focus on examining low frequency, high-risk procedures and methodologies for clinical nursing education. She is committed to leveraging her work and research to participate in the policy making process at the state and national level, advocating for health care in rural areas.

In her spare time, Banks enjoys spending time with her husband Tyler and children Hadley (8), Nixon (5), and Emerson (4 months), as well as sewing, traveling, photography, and running.