Meeting Health Care Needs in Rural Alabama: The Power of Partnerships

Recruiting and retaining rural primary care providers is challenging. The Graduate Nursing Education Primary Care Scholars (GNEPCS) is a partnership between a philanthropic organization and a school of nursing to recruit, educate, train, and retain primary care advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) for practice in rural Alabama with a focus on improving the state's health outcomes. In its initial four years, the GNEPCS partnership has been successful in identifying 60 registered nurses interested in becoming rural primary care APRNs. These students have received mentoring, individualized content on rural health, preceptorships with rural providers, and opportunities for professional and leadership development. Pilot philanthropic funding has allowed us to develop sustainable curricula, attract additional complementary federal funds, and create a critical mass of practice-ready APRNs who are improving primary care access for some of the state's most rural and underserved populations.