UK College of Nursing opens health clinic in Wilmore; allows nurse-practitioner students to experience their full scope of care

UK College of Nursing faculty members Sharon Lock, Amy Delre and Samantha Gilbert

A new community health center in Wilmore operated by the University of Kentucky College of Nursing celebrated its grandopening Nov. 11, but it’s been seeing patients since September, according to a UK news release.

The Phyllis D. Corbitt Community Health Center, named for a former family practice physician in the community, is the first fee-for-service health clinic operated by nurse practitioners from the college.

The clinic provides basic health care services through UK College of Nursing faculty members and students. Services include treatment for respiratory infections, allergies, sore throats, common colds and skin infections. In addition it provides school, sports and pre-employment physicals, immunizations and health education and counseling.

“It’s nice for us to be able to demonstrate to our students how you practice to the extent of your license,” Sharon Lock, professor, director of faculty practice and coordinator of the primary care doctor of nursing practice program at the UK College of Nursing, told Elizabeth Adams for the Jessamine Journal. “Some faculty members can practice here, and we can place our students here so they can see how a nurse-practitioner-run clinic works.”

Practitioners at the Phyllis D. Corbitt Community Health Center collaborate with Dr. Sam Matheny in the UK Department of Family and Community Medicine on cases requiring more complex care.