PBN Health Care Heroes 2024
Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant: NANCY STONE
Lifespan Cardiovascular Institute nurse practitioner; Community College of Rhode Island nursing professor
What led you to choose health care as your profession? I chose to work in health care because I have a strong desire to make a positive difference in someone’s life.
Federal and State Nursing Home Staffing Mandates
Staffing has always been an ongoing challenge in the long-term care industry. However, since the…
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How have you helped boost the quality of or access to health care? It has been through my dual career as a nurse practitioner in cardiology, as well as being the first nurse practitioner in Rhode Island to work in acute care at The Miriam Hospital. Also, I’ve been at the Community College of Rhode Island for more than 20 years. A lot of the nursing staff at Miriam are my former students. So, it’s educating people locally and keeping them in our system to help our community and state. It gives credence to what longevity can really do.
What is the biggest challenge you and your organization are facing this year? Having enough providers to deliver care in a timely manner. When COVID-19 happened, we lost a certain percentage of providers and they’re not coming back. I see it all the time where patients tell me they can’t seem to find a primary care provider. That’s well-known nationally. And then there’s the insurance factor. It’s not an easy fix. At the end of the day, it still affects that person trying to have care delivered to them.
What more do you feel the state can do to help further support the health care sector in Rhode Island? The state should assist patients in procurement of medication that they require, as well as offer financial assistance for those individuals wishing to enter health care. I would like to see [tuition reimbursement] at a higher level, offering more incentives so people can get an education and hopefully still stay locally and provide care in the community.
