Establishing and Sustaining a Family Nursing Center for Families with Chronic Illness: The Wisconsin Experience

Abstract

Illness has a significant impact on the family. Uncertainty, health-related changes, financial concerns, fears, role changes, and family changes are sources of stress for families during chronic illness. In a large regional medical complex serving rural Wisconsin communities, excellent medical care for diseases exists. However, a consistent way to assist families to cope with illness and the family illness responses did not exist. The Family Nursing Center (FNC) was created to provide family intervention services by advanced practice nurses to entire families to assist them to cope with chronic illness and its ramifications. This article focuses on the process of establishing an independent FNC in a large medical complex. Integration of the FNC into the operations of the medical complex, efforts at sustainability in a physician-dominated referral system, identification offamily chronic illness issues, outcomes offamily nursing interventions, systemic evaluation outcomes, andfuture plans are discussed.