Augusta University
Nina Siso
The Augusta University College of Nursing offers community-based primary healthcare services through its Nurse-Managed Health Center. The center offers a variety of services and treatments ranging from chronic care management, telehealth services, annual exams, and even sports physicals. The center opened in 2019 under Dean Emerita Lucy Marion who was quoted at the time saying, “In our new Nurse-Managed Health Center, we embrace the challenge of advanced nursing as well as Nurse Practitioner practice – seeing unlimited possibilities for excellence and innovation in client-centered care.”
Over Thanksgiving week, the clinic was proud to bring in a new provider, Dr. Ashley Nunnally. Nunnally, a certified Family Nurse Practitioner, has been working with Augusta University for the past three years in the Family Medicine Clinic. Nunally believes that the Nurse-Managed Health Center holds many opportunities to assist the local community as well as help educate future nurses. “The ability to be a part of the growth of the clinic and have a hand in its future success is very appealing. My goal will be to increase our visibility to the community so that we are fully utilized and provide a stable teaching environment to nursing and NP students.”
Nunnally graduated from Georgia Southern University with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2010. She utilized her degree as a medical-surgical nurse in Augusta before becoming a travel nurse. “I was able to work in four different states and gained invaluable experience during that time.” It was during her time as a hospital RN that Nunnally noticed the many patient admissions that could have been prevented with good primary care. This became the spark for her career change, and she began the FNP-DNP program at Augusta University in 2015. “My choice of becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner began with my desire to prevent patients from being hospitalized, and knew primary care would best help achieve this goal,” Nunnally said.
Assistant Dean for Instruction and Innovation, Dr. Bill Hamilton said, “The Nurse-Managed Health Center was a dream of Dr. Marion’s, and we are thrilled to have Dr. Nunnally be a part of that legacy. We believe her background in family medicine and her dedication to community primary healthcare will elevate the NMHC as a resource for the university and Augusta as a whole.”
After graduating from Augusta University as a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, Nunnally began her work as a primary care nurse practitioner in 2020 at the Augusta University Family Medicine Clinic. The College of Nursing is pleased to have her on the team and looks forward to the continued success of the Nurse-Managed Health Center. When asked if there was anything else she’d like to share with the college community and future patients, Nunnally said, “I am excited to be here and look forward to providing the best care to our local community and our AU Community.”
* The NMHC is on the first floor of the Health Sciences building located at 987 St. Sebastian Way Suite 1500, Augusta, GA 30912. You can call 706.721.1225 to schedule an appointment.
