Become A Member
Call Us! 615-907-9707
Leading the way for a healthy tomorrow
throughout rural Tennessee.
Partnerships - Education - Advocacy - Resources

Free Virtual Meeting for Rural Health Clinics


Join RHA of TN on October 28th from 9am-11am CST for a Virtual Meeting for Rural Health Clinics.


The presenters for this event will include Drew Staniewski, Deputy Director of TennCare; Zane Seals, Chief Financial Officer of TennCare; Jacy Warrell, Executive Director of RHA of TN; and Nathan Baugh, Executive Director of the National Association of Rural Health Clinics.


Our speakers will share information on Rural Health Clinic policies, advocacy issues, and RHA of TN's efforts to support Rural Health Clinics statewide. Register and find out more about this event here.

Early Bird Price Ends this Week!


The Rural Health Association of Tennessee's 28th Annual Conference, "Collective Impact: A Call to Action," will be held November 16-18, 2022 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Register now here to get the early bird special price! Early bird ends September 30th.


The draft agenda has been posted! Find out who you will be able to hear from this year at conference here.


Also, don't forget the virtual research poster competition! Find out more about contest divisions, rules, and submission instruction here.

Free Virtual Lunch and Learn


Join the Rural Health Association of Tennessee and Mark Lynn with Healthcare Business Specialists to learn more about "RHC Billing" on Friday, October 7th at 11:00am CST. Learn about basic billing information for RHCs including resources for additional information, how to set charges, commonly used acronyms, when to obtain a Medicare Secondary Payor questionnaire, and more.


Register for this free webinar here, and view our other upcoming events on the calendar here.

Congratulations to Ann Cranford!


Congratulations Ann Cranford, the Director of the Recruitment and Retention Program in the State Office of Rural Health!


Ann has been a member of RHA of TN for several years. Recently, at the 3RNet Annual Conference she received the Fred Moskol Award. This award recognizes a person who possesses outstanding leadership abilities, supports the mission of 3RNET, responds compassionately to the healthcare needs of rural and underserved populations and does so with a collaborative and compassionate spirit. Read about it on the blog here.

Events


  • COVID-19 Updates Join RHA of TN and TDH's epidemiologist Ashley Keese, MPH, as she leads a conversation on the current landscape of COVID-19 and strategies for protecting our communities on October 27th at 10am CST. Find out more and register here.


  • Dare to Lead: School Health Leadership Academy Join us on February 8-10, 2023 for RHA of TN's first school health specific leadership academy. Spots are limited so make sure to sign up soon. Find out more information here.


  • Capital Financing Strategies for Rurally-Located Health Centers Join us to explore the financing strategies available to rurally-located health centers considering a capital expansion project. Various financing opportunities will be discussed, including targeted programs such as the USDA, New Markets Tax Credits, and the HRSA Heath Center Facilities Loan Guarantee Program. Register for the September 28th webinar here



  • Educate to Advocate Workshop The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center will be hosting its annual Educate to Advocate workshop on October 3 at 5:30 p.m. This workshop is for: trainees and students, researchers, health care professionals, service providers, educators, people with disabilities or family members, or simply concerned citizens. The event will train you to educate legislators and other public policy makers about changing service systems. Register here.


  • Tennessee Homegrown: Coming Together for Children's Mental Health Conference The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS), in partnership with the Tennessee Association of Mental Health Organizations (TAMHO), is eager to announce the 2022 Statewide SOCAT – System of Care Across Tennessee – Conference. This year’s conference will be conducted in a hybrid format (both in-person and virtual attendance options. In-Person seating is limited. Virtual attendance is not limited. Register here.

 

  • TPCA Annual Conference The Tennessee Primary Care Association’s Annual Conference will meet in-person October 5-7, 2022 at the Embassy Suites in Franklin, TN and will be focused on increasing community health centers’ ability to thrive in today’s dynamic health care environment. The sessions will showcase future directions, best practices, stories of successful collaborations, lessons learned and solutions to community health center issues. Don't miss this opportunity for face-to-face fellowship and peer networking. To view the agenda, click here. To learn more and register, click here.


  • The State of Maternal Health in Tennessee: A Call to Action Join RHA of TN and the March of Dimes for an free, online webinar on "The State of Maternal Health in Tennessee: A Call to Action" on October 12th at 11:00am CST with guest speakers Dr. Kate Fouquier and Kebera Leach. This presentation will provide the overall landscape of maternal health in Tennessee, barriers leading to disparities, and roles of maternal health professionals. Register here.


  • Weitzman ECHO Childhood Trauma This kick-off event will take place on October 7th, and it will connect primary care medical, behavioral health, and school-based health providers as we explore what we know about trauma and its impact on youth, families, schools, and providers. This 18-session program will assist providers with strategies to assess, treat, and support children, adolescents, and their families who are experiencing trauma. Find out more and register here.


Resources
  • New Job Postings! New job postings are available on our job board here.



  • Measure Up: A Call to Action This report highlights six principles for measuring rural development progress to open and deepen conversations about better ways for funders and investors to design programs that consider lower-capacity communities’ realities, needs, and goals. It also contains recommendations for government, philanthropy, and rural practitioners to better measure what matters for rural. Read more here.


  • HHS Introduces Roadmap for Behavioral Health Last week, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) introduced the Roadmap for Behavioral Health Integration, to advance the White House Strategy to Address our National Mental Health Crisis announced earlier this year. The HHS paper explains policy and programs that will build three pillars of the national strategy: 1) Strengthen System Capacity by developing a diverse workforce; 2) Connect Americans to Care through health financing; and 3) Support Americans by Creating Healthy Environments with investments in behavioral health, upstream prevention, and recovery. Find it here.  



  • Review of Rural U.S. Economic and Health Care Trends Reviews recent literature and publicly available data to explore important issues at the nexus of healthcare and local economic vibrancy, and explores the economic implications associated with COVID-19. Includes sections on rural hospitals, the rural healthcare workforce, emergency medical services, insurance, and telehealth. Features statistics with breakdowns by 6 levels of population density and county-level maps showing Health Professional Shortage Areas and rural counties without obstetrical services. Find the review here


  • MD Clinical Solutions & Mercy Chronic Care As traditional fee-for-service reimbursements shift to value-based models, MD Clinical Solutions & Mercy Chronic Care have joined a new grassroots movement to help meet the challenges of this new paradigm. As nurse-owned and led companies, they work with clinics, hospitals, RHCs and FQHCs to implement and sustain high quality team-based care coordination programs for Medicare beneficiaries throughout Tennessee. With the recent historic increases in reimbursement rates for the programs they implement, combined with their affordable pricing, there’s never been a better time or a better way to get started. Contact information: [email protected] &  [email protected]  


  • TennCare has launched a website to share resources and keep the public updated on the unwinding of the federal public health emergency. Find that information here.


  • 988 Suicide and Crisis Prevention Lifeline Beginning July 16th, 988 will become the new three-digit number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The Lifeline will provide compassionate, accessible care and support via phone, text, or online chat to anyone experiencing mental health-related distress. Anyone can use 988 if they have thoughts of suicide, mental health or substance use crises, or any other kind of emotional distress. Find out more about the new lifeline here.


  • COVID-19 Updates On September 12, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced that people with public, private, or no insurance coverage can get COVID-19 vaccines at no cost, for as long as the federal government continues purchasing and distributing them. To find nearby locations for vaccines, masks, testing, and treatment, visit COVID.gov.

Funding Opportunities
The below grants have been hand picked to offer new funding opportunities to our members.

Welcome to our New and Returning Members!

The below organizations have recently joined or renewed their memberships. Members can search our member directory to connect with other members when logging into the RHA of TN's website. While you're searching, update your profile!



Marshall Co. CSH 

TDE Coordinated School Health

Wayne Medical Center 

InterFaith Health Clinic, Inc.

MD Clinical Solutions

Join Or Renew
Thank you to our Platinum Sponsors
for making this communication and our annual conference possible.
Mailing Address:
PO Box 656,
Decaturville, TN 38329
Join Mailing List
Twitter  Linkedin  
This service was supported by funds made available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Center for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support, under GR-21-73441.The contents of this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of or endorsement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.