Atlantic General Hospital celebrates National Nurse Practitioner Week Nov 9-15

Berlin, Md. - As newly insured patients seek access to health care, it is important that the public be aware that there are more than 192,000 nurse practitioners (NPs) in the United States who provide high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered care to patients nationwide.

NPs are licensed, expert clinicians with advanced education (most have master’s and many have doctorate degrees) and extensive clinical preparation who provide primary, acute and specialty health care services. In addition to providing a full range of services, NPs work as partners with their patients, guiding them to make educated health care decisions and healthy lifestyle choices. The confidence that patients have in NP delivered health care is evidenced by the more than 916 million visits made to NPs every year.

National Nurse Practitioner Week, November 9-15, 2014, is a time to celebrate these exceptional health care providers and to remind lawmakers of the importance of removing outdated barriers to practice so that NPs will be allowed to practice to the full extent of their experience and education so that patients are allowed full and direct access to all the services NPs are educated and certified to provide. Nurse practitioners are informed, in touch and involved, making them the health care providers of choice for millions and a solution to the primary care crisis in America.

Atlantic General Hospital and Health System has 16 NPs providing care to the residents of and visitors to the community. “Our NPs work tirelessly to provide patients with the care they need. Patients whose primary care providers are NPs have fewer emergency room visits and shorter hospital stays, resulting in lower out-of-pocket costs. This week we celebrate the commitment of our NPs to advance the health of the community,” stated AGHS Nurse Practitioner Lisa Bayles.

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About the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP)

AANP is the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners (NPs) of all specialties. The mission of AANP is to lead NPs in transforming patient-centered health care. AANP works to: promote excellence in NP practice, education and research; serve as a resource for NPs, the healthcare community and consumers; and be a leader in the national and global community. As The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner®, AANP represents the interests of the more than 192,000 primary, specialty and acute care NPs practicing in the U. S. today. For more information visit www.aanp.org. To locate an NP in your community, go to npfinder.com.

About Atlantic General Hospital

Atlantic General Hospital has been providing quality health care to the residents of Worcester, Wicomico, Somerset (Md.) and Sussex (Del.) counties since May 1993. Built by the commitment and generosity of a dedicated community, the hospital’s state-of-the-art facility in Berlin, Md., combines old-fashioned personal attention with the latest in technology and services. It provides quality specialty care such as weight loss surgery, orthopedics, outpatient infusion for individuals with cancer or blood/autoimmune disorders, retina surgery and a comprehensive women’s diagnostic center. Atlantic General Health System, its network of more than 40 primary care providers and specialists, care for residents and visitors throughout the region. For more information about Atlantic General Hospital, visit www.atlanticgeneral.org.