The nursing departments at Clarion and Slippery Rock universities teamed up in 1995 to offer the master's degree program in response to an increasing need for primary health care providers in rural Pennsylvania. Many of the program graduates open or join practices in their rural communities after they graduate. Two recent graduates, Kerri Last of Titusville and Shelly Moore of Franklin, have joined practices in western Pennsylvania. Last joined a family practice with Dr. John Balmer in Spartansburg in October and Moore joined Drs. Randy Krieder and Peter Bendt in a Northwest Medical Center satellite office in Grove City in November.
Patients arrive with a variety of ailments, some of the emergency variety.
But with Last and other nurse practitioners on the scene, perhaps that will change. According to Dr. Joyce Penrose White, director of the program, nurse practitioners provide an added dimension to a physician's practice, centering on a holistic approach. We consider the physician to be an expert in pathology. That focus includes emphasis on disease prevention, wellness and education. Rather, they treat the patient and their context, be it family or community.