WASHINGTON, DC – (September 30, 2010). Nurse practitioners, advanced practice nurses and registered nurses from across the United States will celebrate National Nurse-Managed Health Clinic Week, October 3-9, 2010. Senate Resolution 643, co-sponsored by Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D), and Senator Lamar Alexander (R) officially designates the week beginning October 3rd as National Nurse-Managed Health Clinic Week.
Nurse-managed health clinics serve as crucial health care access points for vulnerable and underserved patients in rural, urban and suburban communities throughout the country. This designated week will provide a national forum to promote the services offered by the 250 nurse-managed health clinics in the United States and recognize the contributions of nurse-managed health clinics throughout the nation.
“National Nurse Managed Health Clinic Week celebrates the work of nurse-managed health clinics operating in the United States. It also highlights the need for policymakers to appropriate $50 million to the new nurse-managed health clinic funding program that was authorized by the Affordable Care Act,” said Tine Hansen-Turton, chief executive officer of National Nursing Centers Consortium (NNCC).
Earlier this week, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced $14.8 million in new funding for nurse-managed health clinics as part of its ongoing efforts to increase primary care access and develop the health care workforce. This funding, provided by the Prevention and Public Health Fund of the Affordable Care Act, will support access to primary care for approximately 94,000 patients and training for more than 900 advanced practice nurses. However, a $50 million Affordable Care Act program for nurse-managed health clinics and authorized by Congress in March still needs appropriations.
“Nurses are ready, willing and able to step up and meet our country’s primary care needs. By authorizing investment in nurse-managed health clinics, Congress has shown that it understands the ability of nurse practitioners to provide cost-effective primary care. Nurse-managed health clinics will use this funding to provide health care to patients who are most in need, and to increase educational opportunities for the next generation of primary care providers,” said chair of NNCC board of directors Kenneth P. Miller, PhD, RN, CFNP, FAAN.
Nurse-managed health clinics are led by advanced practice nurses, most of whom are nurse practitioners who act as primary care providers for patients. They provide primary care, health promotion and disease prevention services to patients least likely to receive ongoing health care services. This population includes patients of all ages who are uninsured, underinsured, living in poverty or members of racial and ethnic minority groups. More than 85 of the nation’s leading nursing schools operate nurse-managed health clinics, enhancing learning and practice opportunities for nursing students and other health professions students.
About National Nursing Centers Consortium
The largest organization of nurse-managed health clinics in the United States, National Nursing Centers Consortium (NNCC) works to advance nurse-led health care through policy, consultation, programs and applied research to reduce health disparities and meet people’s primary care and wellness needs. The nation’s 250 nurse-managed health clinics reduce health disparities by providing high quality comprehensive primary health care, health promotion and disease prevention services to uninsured, underinsured and vulnerable patients in rural, urban and suburban communities.
NNCC members and nurse-managed care will be highlighted in the final report of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine, to be released in Fall 2010.
