Survival strategies for community nursing centers.
The development of innovations in any area presents a myriad of challenges. The establishment of a community nursing center in a competitive health care market place is not a role for the faint of heart or those with limited motivation or energy to devote to such an endeavor. Even so, many nurses are committed to the goal of establishing CNCs as demonstration sites for experimentation with alternative structures of health care delivery in spite of the challenges and the odds. Until reimbursement mechanisms are modified to allow nurses practicing in CNCs to generate client/service-based revenue, reliance on alternative sources of funding will continue. Several strategies have been presented here that have been identified as useful in the acquisition of financial resources for the support of a community nursing center. The strategies include: focusing on community need rather than the model of delivery when approaching potential donors; securing funds from multiple sources; centralizing the funding strategy and the preparation of grant applications; and adopting a policy of patience and persistence in seeking extramural funding. It is my hope that these strategies will assist those of you engaged in the struggle to develop community nursing centers to significantly improve the level of financial security in your center.
Lundeen
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D003151:Community Health Centers / Q000191:economics*; D005653:Fund Raising; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D009732:Nursing Care