Medical Director
April L. Ashworth, AGPCNP-BC
Medical Director and lead clinician at Joint Freedom. Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner with over a decade of clinical experience in regenerative medicine, hormone therapy, and precision pain management.
Request ConsultationRichmond, VA · Clinically supervised · 4.9★ Google
About April
April L. Ashworth, AGPCNP-BC, is the Medical Director of Joint Freedom and oversees every patient case in the practice. She brings over a decade of clinical experience to the work, specializing in regenerative medicine, hormone therapy, and precision pain management for active adults.
April founded her clinical approach on a simple observation: most patients dealing with chronic joint pain, hormonal decline, or metabolic dysfunction have been given default protocols that do not address their actual case. Generic treatment for non-generic problems. Her practice is built around the alternative: comprehensive evaluation, individualized protocols, and honest clinical reasoning.
At Joint Freedom, April personally leads every consultation. She designs each treatment plan around the patient's specific physiology, history, and goals. Treatments are monitored, adjusted, and refined over time based on what the patient's body actually shows, not on a default timeline.
Clinical approach
April's clinical approach is grounded in three principles.
01
Treat the root cause
Symptoms are signals. The job is to find what is producing the signal and address it directly. Pain medication that masks the symptom while the underlying problem progresses is not treatment. Treatment is what changes what is actually happening in the tissue, the joint, the hormonal system, or the metabolism.
02
Listen first
The patient's story is diagnostic. How the problem started, how it has progressed, what has been tried, what works, what does not. The history often points to the cause more clearly than any test. Diagnostic workup confirms the hypothesis the conversation generates.
03
Never prescribe what is not needed
Some patients arrive expecting to leave with a prescription, an injection, or a treatment plan. April's practice is structured around prescribing what the case actually requires. If a patient does not need testosterone therapy, she will not prescribe it. If laser therapy alone will resolve the issue, that is where the plan stops. The integrity of the practice depends on this.
Credentials
Professional Certifications
- Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Board Certified (AGPCNP-BC)
- Board Certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center
- Certified Integrative Health Practitioner
- Certified in Bioidentical Hormone Therapy Treatment
The AGPCNP-BC certification is specifically focused on the adult and older-adult patient population. This is the demographic most affected by the conditions Joint Freedom treats: chronic joint pain, age-related hormonal decline, metabolic dysfunction, and the cumulative wear that comes with active living. April's training maps directly to the patients walking through the door.
The Certified Integrative Health Practitioner credential reflects April's commitment to treating the whole patient. Joint pain rarely lives in isolation. It is connected to hormonal status, metabolic health, sleep, nutrition, and movement patterns. Integrative care evaluates the full picture.
The Bioidentical Hormone Therapy certification supports the depth of clinical evaluation and protocol design that April brings to testosterone therapy and hormone-related work. It is the difference between prescribing a default protocol and building a regimen around the patient's actual physiology.
Education
Master of Science, Nurse Practitioner
Virginia Commonwealth University
2011 to 2015
Bachelor of Science, Registered Nursing
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
April's training combines a foundation in nursing science with the advanced clinical scope of a board-certified nurse practitioner. The progression from BSN to MSN to AGPCNP-BC reflects a deliberate path toward direct clinical care for the adult population, with full prescriptive authority and diagnostic responsibility.
What patients can expect
When patients meet with April for their first visit, the consultation is built around three things.
Comprehensive history
April reviews the full picture: what brought the patient in, what has been tried, what has worked, what has not, and what the patient is trying to achieve. The conversation is the foundation for everything that follows.
Clinical examination
Hands-on assessment of the affected area, movement patterns, range of motion, and any specific tests required to clarify the diagnosis. Imaging or lab work is ordered when it will change the treatment plan.
Honest recommendation
Patients leave the consultation with a clear understanding of what is happening, what their treatment options are, what each option involves in terms of timeline and cost, and an honest assessment of likely outcomes. Patients who are not a clinical fit for the practice are told so directly and pointed toward what would help.
The first visit takes about thirty minutes. There is no commitment to begin treatment. The goal is to give the patient an answer to the question they came in with, not a sales pitch.
Outside of practice
April lives in the Richmond area and is a long-time Virginian. Outside the clinic, she is most often with her family, in motion, or both.
Working with April
April sees patients in the Joint Freedom clinic in Henrico, Virginia. New patient consultations are free and typically scheduled within one week. Existing patients are seen at structured intervals based on their treatment plan.
Address
2301 N Parham Rd, Ste 1Henrico, VA 23229
Ready to talk to April?
Free thirty-minute consultation. April personally leads every initial visit. No pressure, no pitch.
Address
2301 N Parham Rd, Ste 1Henrico, VA 23229
Phone
Hours
Monday – Thursday: 9:30am – 4:30pm · Friday: 9:00am – 1:00pm · Saturday & Sunday: Closed
We proudly serve patients throughout the Richmond metropolitan area, including Richmond, Henrico, Glen Allen, Short Pump, Midlothian, Mechanicsville, and Chesterfield, and surrounding Virginia communities.