This is an excerpt — pick up Tuesday's Butler Eagle to read the full article.Allowing trained, qualified nurse practitioners to open their own medical practices could expand health care availability, especially in rural areas.A bill passed by the state Senate last week is the first step toward allowing Advanced Practice Registered Nurses-Certified Nurse Practitioners (APRN-CNPs) to practice independently.Senate Bill 25, sponsored by Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-46th, would modernize the Professional Nursing Law to permit qualified APRN-CNPs to practice independent of a physician after they fulfill a three-year, 3,600-hour collaboration agreement with a physician.Current law requires nurse practitioners to practice under a collaboration agreement at all times.The bill was sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.