Community Health Center, Inc. Receives $3.2 Million in Funding to Create and Expand Training for Nurse Practitioner Postgraduate Residency Program

MIDDLETOWN, Conn., June 25, 2019: Community Health Center, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has received a four year, $3,242,490 award from the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) to expand and develop its Postgraduate Nurse Practitioner Residency Training Program. CHC is one of only 36 awardees nationally to receive funding under this initiative which was geared to both planning for new program development and expanding existing postgraduate NP residency programs.  With these funds, CHC will expand its program from providing a postgraduate clinically intensive training year to new family nurse practitioners to include adult/gerontology and pediatric nurse practitioners, and will increase the size of its psychiatric/mental health NP residency training program.  This award will also support the development of a formal academic partnership for the postgraduate NP residency training program with the Yale University School of Nursing.

“CHC created the model and established the first formal Postgraduate Nurse Practitioner Residency Training Program in 2007 to provide new NPs committed to practice careers as primary care providers in complex settings like community health centers with a depth and intensity of training to be successful in this challenging setting,” said Dr. Margaret Flinter, CHC’s Senior Vice President and Clinical Director.  Since then 86 individuals have completed the 12 month, full time program and more than 90% of them continue to practice as primary care providers according to CHC’s data.

Kerry Bamrick, Program Director for CHC’s postgraduate residency training programs and a national consultant to other organizations developing NP Residency programs commented that “This grant will support all of our efforts to grow and meet the need for expert primary care providers, now and in the future and will also help us incorporate training in areas such as the use of telehealth, treating opioid use disorder, and addressing maternal mortality.”

“This is very exciting for us,” said Mark Masselli, CHC’s President and CEO.  “The health center has supported this initiative since the beginning and it is great to see the federal government recognizing its value and need in our health care system across the United States. We are particularly appreciative to Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro for her on-going support of our work in training the next generation.”