Nurse practitioners provide primary care in rural Central Alberta communities

Six nurse practitioners are now providing comprehensive care in six rural Central Alberta communities. 

Nurse practitioners in Alberta are health professionals with either a master’s or doctorate degree who can assess, diagnose, treat and manage chronic illness the same way a physician does.

In Alberta Health Services Central Zone, there is now a nurse practitioner in Blackfalds, Consort, Three Hills, Two Hills, Vegreville and Vermilion.

In April, the province launched the Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Program to allow nurse practitioners to practise comprehensive patient care autonomously, either by operating their own practices or working independently within existing primary care settings.

On Wednesday, the province announced the program received 67 applications and 56 of those were approved. So far, 33 nurse practitioners are practising in communities throughout Alberta.

With 33 nurse practitioners, about 30,000 more Albertans will have access to the primary health care, as well as allow those nurse practitioners to practise to their full scope. Once the remaining 23 approved applicants begin practising, primary health care access will expand to almost 21,000 more Albertans.

One of those 23 nurse practitioners will practise in Camrose.

“I am thrilled about the interest in this program, as nurse practitioners are a key part of the solution to provide Albertans with greater access to the primary health care services they need,” said Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, in a statement. 

To participate in the program, nurse practitioners are required to commit to providing a set number of hours of medically necessary primary care services, maintain a panel size of at least 900 patients, offer after-hours access on weekends, evenings or holidays, and accept walk-in appointments until their panel reaches 900 patients.

Nurse practitioners receive about 80 per cent of the compensation that fee-for-service family physicians earn for providing comprehensive primary care.

Jennifer Mador, Nurse Practitioner Association of Alberta president, thanked the Alberta government for recognizing the vital role nurse practitioners play in the health care system.

“Nurse practitioners have long advocated to operate their own practices and are ready to meet the growing health care needs of Albertans. This initiative will ensure that more people receive the timely and comprehensive care they deserve,” Mador said.