Pioneering a National Advanced Practice Leadership Council to Enhance Care Delivery in a Large 19-State Health System

Abstract

This article describes an innovative approach to enhancing the capacity of advanced practice clinicians (APCs) in a large faith-based health system consisting of multiple markets across the United States. With the challenges in health care today, promotion of advanced practice is vital to increasing quality and access to care while maintaining cost-effectiveness. The development of a national Advanced Practice Leadership Council led by the Vice President of Advanced Practice at Catholic Health Initiatives has been a progressive approach in mitigating the challenges facing APCs in today's health care arena. The success of the Council has led to its inclusion on the health system's national clinical governance structure. The authors discuss development of the Council along with specific information regarding various committee work, including APC state regulations, delineation of privileges, quality measures, and total compensation.