First Class of Advanced Practice Nurses Complete Certificate Program through UK-Norton Healthcare Academic Partnership

7/6/2015 – The UK College of Nursing and Louisville’s Norton Healthcare celebrated the first class of board certified nurse practitioners to complete additional competency-based education through a landmark academic-practice partnership on July 1 2015.

The UK College of Nursing‐Norton Healthcare Academic Partnership allows Norton Healthcare nurses with a bachelor’s degree in nursing the opportunity to earn their Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner certification or Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner certification.

Twenty-one nurse practitioners completed post-graduate education through the partnership program launched in 2014. By 2018, Norton Healthcare will add an estimated 150 doctorally prepared nurse practitioners to the organization’s workforce, and all from within its current staff.

“These nurse practitioners are leading the way through a pivotal time of expanded health care coverage as mandated by the Affordable Care Act,” Dr. Janie Heath, dean of the College of Nursing, said. “It illustrates how nurses are meeting state licensure requirements to manage the care of acute and chronically ill populations within large and complex health care systems at the fullest extent of their education and training.'

Dr Heath also lauded the leadership of Dr. Tracy Williams, senior vice president and system chief nursing officer at Norton Healthcare, who initiated the partnership. “Tracy is one of the first nurse executives to develop a large-scale academic-practice partnership to strengthen nursing practice and help nurses be on the forefront to achieve the triple aim of health care: better care, better health and lower healthcare cost,” she said.

According to Dr. Patricia B. Howard, executive associate dean for academic operations and partnerships at the College of Nursing, this is the first formalized program of its kind in the country.

“This partnership is unique because it is with such a large health care organization that is so dedicated to developing its nurses into leaders,” Dr. Howard said. “This partnership is unique because it is with a large health care organization that is dedicated to developing its nurses into leaders,” she added.

In 2012 the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) convened a Task Force on Academic-Practice Partnerships, which identified such partnerships as a crucial element to meeting the challenges of our changing health care system. Williams was one of the first nurse executives to fully employ its recommendations.

“After a nationwide request for proposals, officials at Norton determined that the UK College of Nursing was the most appropriate for our needs,” Dr. Williams said. “As the first DNP program in the U.S., the UK College of Nursing is known as a model for innovation.”

The Norton Healthcare program calls for 150 DNP-prepared APRNs to be added in the next few years to serve Norton Healthcare patients through new opportunities in its facilities and physician practices. Norton Healthcare consists of five Louisville hospitals with 1,837 licensed beds, seven outpatient centers, and 116 Norton Medical Group and Norton Immediate Care Center locations.

“I know from experience that it can be very difficult for a nurse to go out on his or her own and attain this advanced degree. With this program, Norton Healthcare will provide support to program participants through tuition assistance, mentors, clinical rotations within the system and classes offered on-site and online,” said Dr. Williams.