ANEW is a two-year nursing education initiative funded by the U.S. Human Resources & Services Administration for $1.39 million specifically to prepare advanced practice nurses to provide primary care in rural and underserved areas through academic and clinical training.

 

“Many of today’s 60 million rural Americans are uninsured, at risk for increased health risk behaviors, and live in poverty at even higher levels than what we see in our big cities,” remarked Tami Thomas, Ph.D., R.N., FAANP, FAAN, associate dean of research for the college and ANEW grant project director.

 

Dr. Thomas added that geographic isolation further exacerbates the primary care gap for rural communities. “ANEW addresses this inequity by familiarizing nurse practitioners with the challenges and opportunities of working in rural health care settings and preparing them to work to the fullest scope of their abilities.”

 

The health departments of Glades and Hendry counties near Florida’s Lake Okeechobee are partners in the project, providing the five clinical sites and onsite instructional supervisors to guide the trainees during the three-to-six-month training program. FIU Nursing faculty will supplement the training by using telehealth systems to help ANEW trainees deliver care at the clinics.