Impact of academic nurse-managed centers on communities served

PURPOSE: This paper presents findings from six community focus groups that addressed the impact of academic nurse-managed centers (ANMCs) on the overall community being served as well as the quality of care provided in the centers. DATA SOURCES: Experts in focus group methodology from a public health institute conducted the six focus groups at ANMCs from four universities in the Midwest. Discussions were guided by nine questions presented to each group. All groups were tape-recorded and transcribed. A total of 37 participants were recruited from the ANMCs and included patients and families, advisory board members, and local community organizations. CONCLUSIONS: Four themes were identified across the six focus groups: valuing patient-centered care, which included two subthemes-continuous specific provider and specific aspects of care; quality of care; increasing access to care/addressing the safety net; and evidence of outreach. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Findings from these focus groups verify that community members do "get it" in terms of the unique aspects of ANMCs. Participants were able to articulate the differences between nurse-managed care and other types of ambulatory primary care. The unique strengths of nurse practitioners were repeatedly articulated as well as the centers' outreach into the community.