UK HealthCare

First Class of Nurse Practitioners Complete Post-Certificate Program through the UK-Norton Healthcare Academic Partnership

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 7, 2015) — The University of Kentucky College of Nursing and Louisville’s Norton Healthcare recently celebrated the first class of board-certified nurse practitioners to complete competency-based education through a landmark academic-practice partnership.

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 (DNP) degree or Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG-ACNP) certification.

On July 1, a class of 21 nurse practitioners completed postgraduate AG-ACNP education through the partnership program, which was announced in 2014. Through the program, Norton Healthcare will add 150 doctorally prepared nurse practitioners to the organization’s workforce by 2018, and all from within the current staff.

“These nurse practitioners are leading the way through a pivotal time of expanded health care coverage,” 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.”

Heath also lauded the leadership of 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 health care cost,” she said.

According to Patricia 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,” Howard said.  

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 a 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 University of Kentucky’s College of Nursing was the most appropriate for our needs,” 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. 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 rotation within the system and classes offered on-site and online,” Williams said.

MEDIA CONTACT: Elizabeth Adams, elizabethadams@uky.edu