Integrated Physical and Mental Health Care at a Nurse-Managed Clinic Report from the Trenches

The Health and Wellness Center (HWC), located in Joliet, Illinois, is a nurse-managed universally accessible primary health care center funded by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The goals of the HWC are to improve access to quality primary health care services for all patients, including those who are uninsured and underserved, and to develop and implement a model of nurse-managed primary health care that integrates both physical and mental health assessment and treatment. After 5 years of developing and using this model, it is clear that integration requires strategic supports from the financial, political, and professional sectors to be considered a cost-effective model of health care delivery. Recommendations for policy and practice change are offered based on the author's experiences of providing integrated health care at the HWC and the health care industry's responses to uninsured or underinsured patients' needs.