Family nurse practitioner, DNP student aims to improve primary care

Elisabeth Volpert, a student in the University of Louisville School of Nursing’s first doctor of nursing practice cohort, is determined to increase primary care access and improve health outcomes.

To achieve that end, Volpert, a family nurse practitioner at the Centers for Primary Care at UofL Physicians Outpatient Center, has been selected for the Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP) Mentorship Program, in which a fellow of the organization will guide her in developing a primary care clinical workflow that will increase value-based care.

In the value-based health care delivery model, providers are paid based on patient health outcomes, as opposed to fee-for-service, in which payments to providers depend on the amount of services.

“A value-based approach ensures that providers not necessarily see a large quantity of patients, but that they provide the highest quality of care that allows patients to achieve better outcomes,” said Volpert, M.S.N., A.P.R.N. “Value-based reimbursement encourages health care providers to deliver the best care at the lowest cost.”

Volpert’s mentor will be Phyllis Adams, Ed.D., R.N., N.P.-C., F.N.P.-B.C., clinical associate professor and director of the Family Nurse Practitioner Program at The University of Texas at Arlington. At the end of the yearlong mentorship, Volpert will present her work at the 2019 AANP National Conference.

“Through this mentor program, Elisabeth will obtain the leadership skills that will facilitate her growth as a nurse leader,” said Whitney Nash, Ph.D., A.P.R.N., UofL School of Nursing associate dean of practice and service. “She is ambitious and a role model for clinicians at all levels.”

As a primary care provider, Volpert diagnoses and treats patients across the lifespan with acute and chronic illness. Her passion lies in providing care to people of low socioeconomic status.

“Over the past 10 years, I’ve seen patients turned away because of a lack of primary care providers,” Volpert said. “There is a great opportunity for advanced practice nurses – who are highly educated and equipped to provide evidence-based primary care – to fill that gap.”