Nurse-managed health centers (NMHCs) and clinics are innovative, setting-based, primary care models with care delivery leadership by APRNs at a master’s level to offer high-quality, comprehensive, and patient-centered care. Located in resource-deprived areas, especially the rural and urban settings, NMHCs provide healthcare services and support to people of all ages, with a focus on intervention at the primary level, disease management, health promotion and education, and referrals for specialty services (Dols et al., 2021). Such clinics are typically affiliated with academic institutions and are teaching, service, and research facilities. Using evidence-based practice, NMHCs eliminate disparities, enhance population health, and decrease the load on overfilled emergency departments (Terry et al., 2024). The operational structure of NMHCs allows cost-efficient provision of quality care to patients, including the uninsured, underinsured, and other vulnerable groups. These attributes help make timely and early interventions with consistent follow-ups, helping the patients establish strong relationships with their caregivers.

Need for this Change
There are four primary reasons for a rise in nurse-managed health centers. First, there is a great scarcity of first-line physicians, especially in rural areas with low population densities, hence limited access to quality and timely health services. Second, the increase in the cost of healthcare services requires implementing cost-effective care models that do not affect the quality of care or the outcomes of the patients (Cockroft et al., 2020). Third, the rising incidence of chronic diseases among the diverse population requires a long-term, integrated, and individualized care model that NMHCs can provide (Pu et al., 2024). Fourth, the multifaceted nature of social determinants of health requires a care delivery system that goes beyond the medical model of care that focuses on treating the disease and encompasses prevention, education, and community involvement (Wu et al., 2024). NMHCs meet these challenges through nurse-led interventions that enhance access, equity, and cultural competence to change the health system and foster sustainable reforms.

Benefits of Nurse-Managed Health Centers
Nurse-managed health centers have four main advantages in delivering health care services. First, they increase access to quality care for the vulnerable groups, thereby eliminating geographical, financial, and cultural barriers to healthcare. Second, NMHCs help enhance health outcomes by providing preventive care, chronic illness management, and early intervention based on evidence-based nursing practice (Ivarsson et al., 2025). Third, these centers considerably decrease healthcare costs by reducing admissions, emergency department visits, and specialist referrals (Heidari et al., 2024). Finally, they are also involved in clinical training of nursing students in community-based facilities, which makes them contribute to the workforce in this aspect and strengthen the role of nurses in primary care (Cockroft et al., 2020). Altogether, these advantages place NMHCs at the center of advancing health equity, enhancing population health, and maximizing the value of the healthcare industry.

Solutions to Obstacles
Four strategic interventions are suggested to overcome the challenges still prevalent in NMHCs. First, federal and state policymakers must improve funding sources and reimbursement strategies to include nurse-led care as a valuable and efficient approach. Second, legislative reforms should increase the scope of practice of nurse practitioners nationwide, which would lessen the regulation (Sutter et al., 2020). Third, there is a need to enhance the sustainability of academic-practice partnerships through investments, governance, and research collaboration (Dols et al., 2021). Last of all, awareness and engagement campaigns should be launched to raise the public’s appreciation of the NMHC model and gain their support in the long term (Terry et al., 2024). When implemented with accuracy and interprofessional collaboration, these solutions can help avoid the operational issues and guarantee the sustainability of NMCs. 

References
Cockroft, M., Laboy, J., Mullen, L., & Hubbell, S. L. (2020). Nurse-led mobile health clinics: an opportunity for student scholarship and faculty practice. Journal of Nursing Education, 59(10), 594–596. https://journals.healio.com/doi/abs/10.3928/01484834-20200921-11Links to an external site.

Cockroft, M., Laboy, J., Mullen, L., & Hubbell, S. L. (2020). Nurse-led mobile health clinics: an opportunity for student scholarship and faculty practice. Journal of Nursing Education, 59(10), 594–596. https://journals.healio.com/doi/abs/10.3928/01484834-20200921-11Links to an external site.

Dols, J. D., DiLeo, H. A., & Beckmann-Mendez, D. (2021). Nurse-managed health centers: Financial sustainability, community benefit, and stakeholders. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 17(6), 712-717. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1555415521000532Links to an external site.

Heidari, O., Winiker, A. K., Pollock, S., Sodder, S., Tsui, J. I., & Tobin, K. E. (2024). A qualitative exploration of the use of telehealth for opioid treatment: Implications for nurse‐managed care. Journal of clinical nursing, 33(7), 2707–2718. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jocn.17125Links to an external site.

Ivarsson, C., Bergqvist, M., Wändell, P., Lindblom, S., Norrman, A., Eriksson, J., … & Carlsson, A. C. (2025). Assessing Associations of Nurse‐Managed Hypertension Care on Pharmacotherapy, Lifestyle Counseling, and Prevalence of Comorbid Cardiometabolic Diseases in All Patients With Hypertension Treated in Primary Care in Stockholm, Sweden. The Journal of Clinical Hypertension, 27(1), e14940. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jch.14940Links to an external site.

Pu, X., Malik, G., & Murray, C. (2024). Nurses’ experiences and perceptions of running nurse‐led clinics: A scoping review. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 30(6), e13285. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ijn.13285

Sutter, R., Cuellar, A. E., Harvey, M., & Hong, Y. A. (2020). Academic nurse-managed community clinics transitioning to telehealth: case report on the rapid response to COVID-19. JMIR nursing, 3(1), e24521. https://nursing.jmir.org/2020/1/e24521Links to an external site.

Terry, D., Hills, D., Bradley, C., & Govan, L. (2024). Nurse‐led clinics in primary health care: A scoping review of contemporary definitions, implementation enablers and barriers and their health impact. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 33(5), 1724-1738. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jocn.17003Links to an external site.

Wu, X., Li, Z., Tian, Q., Ji, S., & Zhang, C. (2024). Effectiveness of nurse-led heart failure clinic: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Sciences. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352013224000516