The Nursing Center for Community Health at The University of Akron and similar nurse-managed clinics across the country are receiving well-deserved recognition for the services they provide to their communities.
The National Nursing Centers Consortium (NNCC) has designated Oct. 3-9 as National Nurse-Managed Health Clinic Week. The NNCC, which supports nurse practitioners as primary health care providers delivering high quality services to the uninsured and underinsured, seeks to eliminate health disparities and to recognize nurse-managed health centers as mainstream health care models.
UA’s Nursing Center for Community Health fits this model, and provides non-emergency, episodic and primary care to the community’s uninsured and uninsured residents. It is the only nurse-managed clinic in Akron.
“People get the impression that the uninsured and underinsured are the poorest of the poor,” says Annette Mitzel, director of the center. “This is not the case. People with jobs who do not have health insurance rely on our clinic as a safety net.”
The clinic’s staff, which includes physician volunteers, UA faculty and nursing students, focuses on wellness and health promotion, as well treating chronic illnesses and common ailments such as sore throats. The clinic also is a source for diagnostics, vision screening and even oral health assessments.
“If we are unable to help patients with specific problems, we will direct them to appropriate resource,” adds Mitzel. “Also, our graduate students work with patients to receive needed medications and understand our prescription drug assistance program.”
In addition to the clinic’s main site in Mary Gladwin Hall, five additional Akron-area sites bring services to the neighborhoods where they are needed. In 2009, all six sites recorded more than 5,000 visits. Nursing faculty and clinic staff are joined by nursing students, medical students and residents and nutrition science students, who gain valuable clinical experience while helping others.
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Media contact: Sarah Lane, 330-972-7429 or slane@uakron.edu.