Community partnership primary care: a new paradigm for primary care

Primary care has become the focal point of health care reform. For too long primary care has been narrowly conceptualized as office-based care for common problems of individuals. In this article, a nurse practitioner describes a new model for primary care, community partnership primary care (CPPC), which moves beyond typical primary care practice to create what may be a new paradigm for primary care. This proposed new paradigm moves beyond older models of primary care into new dimensions of practice. The CPPC model emphasizes new roles for clinicians and a unique goal to foster the empowerment of individuals, families, and community. Innovative features of the CPPC model include blending a clinical role with a new area of practice called community practice. CPPC emphasizes new, innovative roles for nurse practitioners and nurses in community development and community empowerment activities. A 4-year funded project permitted the development and implementation of the CPPC model in an urban Hispanic community. This article provides an overview of the CPPC model and the initial steps of model implementation.