52% of U.S. community hospitals use nurse practitioners to deliver care
The majority of these clinicians (also known as advanced practice nurses) provide primary care to hospital patients, but they also can be found in other areas, including anesthesia services, the emergency department, other specialties, patient education and case management. Larger hospitals (100 or more beds) and academic medical centers are much more likely to employ nurse practitioners than smaller or nonteaching organizations. In terms of location, 55 percent of urban hospitals employ nurse practitioners compared with 47 percent of rural hospitals.
For additional information about AHA data, contact the AHA Resource Center at rc@aha.org or (312) 422-2050.
