On average, Scott Joyce takes care of three patients an hour at one of the Primary Health Network centers.
But Scott is not a doctor, he's a nurse practitioner.
"Most nurse practitioners have an average 10 years nursing experience prior to being a nurse practitioner," he said. "So we've been around."
Nurse practitioners have a graduate degree or an advanced education beyond a registered nurse's training. With a looming nationwide doctors shortage, 28 states, including Ohio, are considering expanding the authority of these health care providers.
"I feel there's a very big demand out there for health care coverage, and I think we have a niche that can cover that," said Lori Leipheimer, with Primary Health Network.
The Primary Health Network currently employs 13 nurse practitioners at its 33 locations, mostly in Western Pennsylvania.
"Pennsylvania seems to be a state that's a little bit more nurse practitioner friendly," Joyce said. "The rules and regulations allow a little bit better scope of practice for nurse practitioners."
The nurse practitioners have collaborative agreements with the physicians, meaning the doctors are always available for consultations. But Primary Health officials said without the nurse practitioners, they could not adequately staff their health centers.
"In a lot of our locations, they are the only provider on site at any given day or time," said Susan Piccirilli, vice president of marketing for Primary Health Network. "And they supplement the physician."
They stressed the need to supplement the doctors, not replace them all to provide the best care to their patients.
Officials with Youngstown State University's nursing department are trying to add a nurse practitioner degree to their program. They are currently going through the approval process with the university.
