Case management in the community setting.

This article describes a federally funded nurse managed community health organization that treats the elderly. The innovative community-focused model uses the nurse as case manager to provide health promotion, screening, and early interventions to clients enrolled in the Community Nursing Organization (CNO). It explains the advantages of integrating advanced practice nurses into the nursing staff to provide both direct care to clients and teaching/conculation to the nursing staff. The CNO demonstrates that advanced practice nurses possess autonomous practice skills and are able to integrate preventive and curative care across practice sites.