Pennsylvania Nurse, Front Page 2017 Issue 1 | Page 13

Nurse-Managed Health Clinics
in Pennsylvania
Ensuring Access to High-Quality Care
Every day, nurse-managed health clinics ensure Pennsylvanians access to high-quality, affordable
health care. These clinics are managed by advanced practice nurses.
Nurses in these clinics offer primary care, health promotion, and disease prevention services. This
includes physical exams, immunizations, treatment for acute and chronic illness, disease testing,
prenatal care, dental care, drug and alcohol treatment, behavioral health, vision and hearing
screenings, and many more services for both children and adults. Access to primary care not only
keeps Pennsylvanians healthy, but also prevents costly ER visits.
As defined by Section 254c-1a of the Public Health Service Act, Nurse-Managed Health Clinics or NMHCs are, “nurse-practice
arrangements, managed by advanced practice nurses (APNs), that provide primary care or wellness services to underserved or
vulnerable populations and are associated with a school, college, university or department of nursing, federally qualified health
center, or independent nonprofit health or social services agency.”
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NPs provide quality care at lower costs. Reducing barriers to effective NP
practice could save Pennsylvanians more than $6.4 billion over ten years.
The Value of Full Practice Authority for Pennsylvania’s Nurse Practitioners, Duke University, July 2015
Nurse-Managed Health Clinics in Pennsylvania
April 2017
National Nurse-Led Care Consortium - nncc.us
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Used with permission by NNCC.
Issue 1 2017 Pennsylvania Nurse 11