April Giard

Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer of Northern Light Health

April Giard, DNP, MSN, NP-BC, NEA-BC, is senior vice president and chief digital officer of Northern Light Health.

Dr. Giard sees her role as bringing a pragmatic eye to the linking of care delivery with community needs by leveraging technology. As national health reform continues to take shape and change, ensuring that patients continue to receive the right care, at the right time, and in the right place is critical. 

As a practitioner, Dr. Giard is passionate about approaching every role with the patient and care team at the center. In addition to her clinical and information technology background, she has developed a national reputation as a leader in Informatics and healthcare leadership, inspiring other leaders to imagine new ways to integrate technology with the delivery of accessible and high-quality care.

The ability to strategically align Northern Light Health’s clinical talent in the development, optimization and adoption of health IT assets is a major focus for Dr. Giard, as is growing enterprise resource planning systems and enhancing the system’s information security plan.

She is a national leader in her field and is currently serving as an advisor and member of the Scottsdale Institute, as well as a member of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.

Dr. Giard has nearly 30 years in healthcare, both in direct patient care as a nurse practitioner and over the past 20 years serving in various executive leadership roles for EMHS and Northern Light Health. She holds three national certifications in advanced healthcare leadership and clinical practice specialties.

Education

Bachelor’s and Master’s in Nursing degrees, University of Maine and University of Southern Maine
Post Masters Certificate – Nursing, Husson College
Doctorate in Executive Leadership in Healthcare, Sentinel University

Dr. Giard became the senior vice president and chief digital officer for Northern Light Health in 2022.