"The Long and Winding Road:" Grant Funding for Nurse Managed Health Centers

Nurse managed centers, both academic and non-academic, require personnel with business savvy and grant-writing expertise in order to achieve long-term sustainability. Recently, the Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded approximately $1.5 million dollars each to 10 nurse managed health centers.  Despite this historic federal funding, most long standing nurse managed health centers have had to develop unique funding streams to sustain the ongoing operations. The future of nurse managed health centers is partly dependent upon personnel gaining expertise in the identification of available grant mechanisms and writing successful grants for a variety of funders. Although successful sustainability is dependent on a judicious mix of reimbursement, local support and grant funding, this presentation will focus on grant funding.

The discussion proposed here will provide National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) members with a unique opportunity to hear from and talk with three nurse managed health center experts about their experiences (both the successes and the challenges) with grant funding for their centers. The three leaders have over 50 years of combined expertise in the area. The three leaders and their nurse managed health centers are unique in size, structure and location; therefore, the grant funding opportunities are varied. They will discuss the local, state and federal funding options available to their nurse managed centers. The armchair discussion will provide attendees with tips and strategies for successful grant funding.

The discussion will provide important information for both the novice and the expert. The attendees will hear “the real-world” stories from the experts and will be provided with significant time for questions and dialogue with the experts. Attendees will gain a new found (or renewed) understanding of the creative strategies required to continue on the “long and winding road” toward nurse managed health center sustainability.