The South Carolina Coalition for Access to Health Care is a group of Health Care professionals working to develop ways to ensure that every patient has the ability to get the care they need from any provider they select.

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What is an Advance Practice Registered Nurse?

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An Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) is a registered nurse (RN) who has completed an advanced graduate-level education program and has passed a national certification exam in order to practice as either a Nurse Practitioner (NP), Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA), or Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), and who is authorized to practice autonomously in over 20 states.  Research shows that these APRNs increase access, are cost effective, and provide safe high quality patient outcomes.

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As of 2014, South Carolina had 2,582 APRNs and 570 APRNs in training in our state’s graduate programs at Clemson, the University of South Carolina, the Medical University of South Carolina, and Francis Marion University.