Help is on the Way
A $2.5M nurse practitioner training grant will ease the primary health care crisis in parts of southern New Jersey
Thanks to a traineeship grant of more than $2.5 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)—to be administered over four years by Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden—a shortage of primary health care professionals in an underserved part of New Jersey will be boosted by an increase in the availability of nurse practitioners.
The primary health care shortage in the United States is an undeniable and significant problem. At the heart of the shortage are a rapidly aging population, a growing demand for primary care services, and a limited supply of new primary care providers. But nurse practitioners have emerged as a potential solution to the primary care shortage by working independently—or in collaboration with physicians and other healthcare providers—in a variety of settings.
Joseph Cipriano, associate dean of graduate programs and advanced nursing practice and clinical assistant professor Angela M. Kelly, clinical associate professor
Joseph Cipriano, associate dean of graduate programs and advanced nursing practice and clinical assistant professor Angela M. Kelly, clinical associate professor
“Through this grant, we will be able to increase access to quality primary care providers with the placement of nurse practitioner residents in rural, urban, and underserved communities in parts of southern New Jersey,” said Associate Dean of Graduate Programs and Advanced Nursing Practice and Clinical Assistant Professor Joseph Cipriano, who served as the grant’s principal investigator.
Angela M. Kelly, a clinical associate professor in the School of Nursing, served as the grant’s co-principal investigator.
The grant will support training for nurse practitioner residents completing their clinical hours at primary care sites managed by CompleteCare Health Network (CCHN). CCHN is the second largest of New Jersey’s federally qualified health centers, with seven primary care health facilities in the southern part of the state. Sixty-eight percent of CCHN’s patients live in Cumberland County, which is ranked last in health outcomes out of the 21 counties in New Jersey.
In 2020 alone, CCHN’s outreach to special populations throughout southern New Jersey included 2,494 migrant farmworkers and 6,629 homeless patients. It is acknowledged that nurse practitioner residents trained in underserved communities have an increased likelihood of practicing in those communities, supporting the RSNC goal of sustaining a dedicated pipeline of providers that will expand access to primary care in southern New Jersey.
*This program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $2,533,682 with 30% of the participant stipend financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.
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