The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #68791

Katherine K. Kinsey, PhD, RN, FAAN¹, Lisa Whitfield Harris, MSN, RN¹, Karen Read, MSN, RN², Pamela Sampson, CRNP, MSN², and William Tierney, CPA³. (1) School of Nursing, La Salle Neighborhood Nursing Center, La Salle University, Box 808, 1900 West Olney Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19141, 215-951-1434, kinsey@lasalle.edu, (2) Neighborhood Nursing Center, La Salle University, Box 808, 1900 West Olney Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19141-1199, (3) Health Care Financial Consultants, 641 North Wales Road, North Wales, PA 19454

Public Health Nurses and like-minded nurse practitioners are dedicated to improving the health of the public, particularly those who are underserved and at high risk for illness, injury, premature disability and death. This paper highlights strategies to sustain or change the services of one academic nurse managed health center model located in an inner city public housing complex. The sustainability or change viewpoint is framed by the 2002 Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Public Housing (330i) applications submitted to the DHHS: Bureau of Primary Health Care on April 30 and December 16, 2002. The intensive planning, proposal development, review process and action steps taken post notification has honed the skills of faculty and staff, consultants, and colleagues involved in nurse managed health models in Greater Philadelphia. The issues of the underinsured, the definitions of medically underserved populations or areas, census data, needs assessment data, community support, and support from current FQHCs must be fully captured in the application. Current data are essential as is the degree to which the application adheres to the application guidelines and federal regulations. The December FQHC resubmission application with revisions further presents the ongoing needs of low income, minority residents in public housing neighborhoods and maximizes opportunities to sustain the nurse managed health center in times of health system uncertainties and economic adversities. Notification timeline for the December resubmission is spring 2003. Lessons learned from the review critique and the future of the nurse managed health center will be presented.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to:
• identify the application process for federally qualified health center
• Discuss three data sources needed for application
• Analyze decisions made to sustain or change one academic nurse managed health center model services

Keywords: Community Health Centers, Sustainability

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.