Former Career Center student, Dana Daugherty Cruse, N.P., BC-ADM, was honored at the May Board of Education meeting as an inductee into the prestigious Washington County Career Center Alumni Hall of Fame. She is a 1988 Marietta High School graduate from The Career Center’s former Diversified Cooperative Health Occupations program.
Cruse earned her Licensed Practical Nurse degree, from Washington State Community College, in 1991. From there, she went on to earn various other degrees, which include: Registered Nurse from Hocking College in 1993, Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Rio Grande in 2002, and Master of Science in Nursing from Wheeling Jesuit University in 2011. At Wheeling Jesuit University, she graduated with honors Sigma Theta Tau. Cruse is a member of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International, and Omicron Mu.
She is board certified as a nurse practitioner and in diabetes management and is employed with Memorial Health Systems. Cruse completed her coursework at the Mayo Clinic. She works in the Department of Primary Care in Williamstown for David Pickering, D.O., BC-ADM. Dr. Pickering commented, “There are not many health-care providers, in the Mid-Ohio Valley area, who are board certified for diabetes management. I believe there is only one other than Dana and I. I’m very fortunate to be working with her.” Cruse is the first primary care provider and nurse practitioner to implement using an artificial pancreas in the state of West Virginia and at Memorial Health System. The device is a pump with a continuous glucose monitor, which is all self-monitoring and self-adjusting.
Over the years, she has volunteered for various selfless reasons: camp nurse for the Lynn Street Church of Christ, performing sports physicals, helping at her local food pantry, and working health fairs. Traveling to the Dominican Republic, on a missionary trip, was a highlight of her volunteerism, and she aspires to do more in the future. Recently, Cruse completed training in Orlando, Florida, and was appointed as the national speaker for the diabetes medication, Invokana, and the insulin delivery device, Vgo.
When asked how the Career Center influenced her career goals in life, Cruse openly commented, “I am very confident the two years I spent learning skills in the Career Center’s health program was monumental in setting my path forward for a rewarding and successful career. I would not have excelled in my field without the early influence the Career Center had in my education.” She further lamented, “I am truly grateful and humbled by this honor.”
Cruse resides in Williamstown with her husband, Roger, who works for Marietta Memorial Hospital as a Chief Nurse Anesthetist. They have three children, Jarred and Brianna of the home, Siera Bourizk (Maurice) of Pataskala, and two grandchildren, Gabe and Katia Bourizk.
Photo: Dana Daugherty Cruse, Washington County Career Center – 2018 Alumni Hall of Fame Recipient