title: A journey to become a federally qualified health center.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Since 1998, Integrated Health Care (IHC), an academic nurse-managed center of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing, has delivered primary and mental health care to people with serious and persistent mental illness who are enrolled in psychosocial rehabilitation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Federal guidelines and experiences of the steering group. This article reports our journey of transformation to a achieve the status of a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurse-managed clinics (NMCs) have become important in the U.S. healthcare system with well documented positive impact. However, financial issues have placed may NMCs at risk for closure. Achieving FQHC status is seen as a viable option to increase revenue and therefore financial stability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This discussion of the benefits of FQHC status, an overview of some common compliance issues with FQHC requirements, and the report of lessons learned along the way in meeting FQHC standards that we encountered can provide support and guidance for other NMCs in similar situations.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA. marsmith@uic.edu
authors.forename: Marlene
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sefton
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brigell
authors.forename: Charlie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yingling
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Storfjell
mesh_terms: D057179:Advanced Practice Nursing / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards; D033161:Government Regulation; D006291:Health Policy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006768:Hospitals, Federal / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States