Sollus Advanced Practice Clinician Residency Program: Training the Next Generation of Providers for Rural Communities

Early in her career, Hailey Blizniak, ARNP worked with a patient who repeatedly missed appointments. She reached out and learned the patient was a single mother working multiple jobs while caring for a child with special needs.

Rural patients face transportation challenges, financial hardship, language barriers, and long waits for care. A nationwide shortage of health care providers adds to the challenge of ensuring patients get the care they need, especially in rural and underserved communities.

The Sollus Advanced Practice Clinician Residency Program works to prepare new Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants for careers in rural health while strengthening the local healthcare workforce.

Blizniak is a former resident who now serves as a provider and residency preceptor. She says the residency helped her learn that caring for patients means understanding more than a diagnosis.

"It was so important for me to really understand the many different barriers that our patients face just trying to get to the clinic," Blizniak said.

Founded in 2014 as the Sollus Northwest Nurse Practitioner Residency, the program expanded in 2025 to include Physician Assistants and Associates and became the Sollus Advanced Practice Clinician Residency.

Many graduates choose to stay with Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, helping strengthen access to care throughout the region and creating a pipeline of providers committed to serving rural communities.

"We are bringing more providers into the Yakima Valley who otherwise maybe not have considered an FQHC as the first place to work," said Yurika Lopez, Administrative Services Manager. "A lot of residents that have gone through the program have stayed with Farm Workers following their residency years."

Since the program began, 12 former residents have been hired to work in our clinics. The residency also complements efforts to improve access to care across our organization, including same-day orthopedic clinics that help patients receive treatment more quickly and avoid delays that can keep them from work and daily life.

"I feel every day that it's very important, meaningful work," said Blizniak. "If I went elsewhere, I wouldn't feel like I'm using my skill set for something that's really important."