2 U-M School of Nursing health clinics close amid merger with Packard Health

Beginning Monday, patients will be seen at Packard Health, which has two locations. The two U-M clinics were staffed by nurse practioners, a registered nurse who has received advanced training, who are also U-M faculty.

The new partnership between the U-M School of Nursing and Packard Health insures that patients will continue to receive care, Kathleen Potempa, dean of the school of nursing, said in a press release.

It was Potempa’s decision to close the clinics and enter into a partnership with Packard Health.

The two U-M clinics logged a total of about 4,200 patient visits a year, said Thomas Biggs, interim CEO of Packard Health. Packard Health expects to pick up up 70 percent of those visits, he said, and has hired one of U-M's nurse practioners and will add another nurse practioner through a contract with U-M, Biggs said. Packard Health will also serve as a training site for U-M nurse practioner students, he said.

“Determined to preserve this resource for the coming years, we aligned with Packard Health as a means for gaining the necessary operational and administrative support,” Potempa said.

“The community should expect our nurse faculty to see and treat patients just as they have been - with compassion and under the highest of standards.”

According to the press release, “a challenging economic climate” prompted the School of Nursing to look for other options in order to continue to offer care.

“The clinics aren’t closing, they’re merging,” said Susan Gorny, interim manager for marketing and communications for the School of Nursing.

While a letter from Potempa and Biggs said a nurse practioner health provider at Community Family Practice would join the staff at Packard Health, the status of the rest of the staff at the two clinics was unclear. Biggs said Packard Health would not be hiring all of that staff.

Packard Health is a community based health care clinic offering services to insured and uninsured patients on a sliding scale. It also offers payment plans.

"We consider ourselves a safety net clinic," Biggs said.

Packard Health is located at 3174 Packard Road, with another office at 501 N. Maple Rd.

Medical records of patients who have not notified the clinics where they will receive medical care will be stored at the U-M Health System’s Health Information Management Office. Patients whose coverage is through Washtenaw Health Plan must now receive their care at Packard Health.