We welcome you to the Valley Advance Practice Nurses Association (VAPNA) website.  As a voice of the Nurse Practitioner of the Valley, VAPNA represents the interests of NP’s as providers of high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered health care.

  • Nurse practitioners, also known as NPs, are expert clinicians with advanced training who provide primary, acute and specialty health care.
  • NPs offer high-quality, cost-effective, patient-centered health care.
  • 21 states and the District of Columbia have granted full practice authority to NPs, giving patients more direct access to the primary, acute and specialty care services that NPs provide.
  • NPs provide a full range of services, such as ordering, performing and interpreting diagnostic tests; diagnosing and treating acute and chronic conditions; prescribing medications and treatments; and managing overall patient care.
  • There are more than 222,000 NPs licensed to practice in America today, providing solutions to the health care provider crisis.
  • NPs have master’s degrees, and many have doctoral degrees, as well as advanced education and clinical training.
  • NPs are licensed and can prescribe medication and other treatments in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
  • Patients whose primary care providers are NPs have fewer emergency room visits and shorter hospital stays, resulting in lower out-of-pocket costs.
  • Two out of three patients support legislation for greater access to NP services.
  • An estimated 20,000 new NPs completed their academic programs in 2014-2015.
  • NPs emphasize the health and well-being of the whole person in their approach, including helping patients make educated health care decisions and healthy lifestyle choices.
  • The confidence patients have in NPs is demonstrated by the more than 870 million visits made to NPs each year.