August 31, 2021

Join Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and our many members who are  raising awareness on how to prevent and respond to overdose.

Inspired by annual community events hosted in Melbourne, Australia, International Overdose Awareness Day was brought to the global stage in 2012 as nations like the United States and Australia were beginning to understand the magnitude of the opioid crisis. Since 2012, IOAD has maintained it’s original purpose to raise awareness, reduce stigma of drug-related death and commemorate those who have been lost to drug overdose.

CareQuest and the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) are sponsoring a pair of Nov. 18th sessions at 
the Rural Health Association of Tennessee's 27th Annual Conference.

The NRHA will lead off that morning with a session from 8:30 - 9:30am EST titled "Rural Health in the United States – Updates from the National Rural Health Association," which will feature NRHA Vice President for Member Services Brock Slabach Sr.

Thanks to a project funded by Health and Human Services Administration (HRSA), we are able to scholarship 11  individuals who meet the below criteria:

• Live in a rural Appalachia community as defined by HRSA.
• Serve on a local prevention coalition.
• Agree to attend a peer meeting at RHA of TN's Annual Conference

 Click here to apply

Or email [email protected] for details.

Click here to view conference details.

The Rural Health Association of Tennessee is hosting a webinar with the Tennessee Department of Health to  provide an update on the Covid-19 pandemic on Sept. 23 from 11 a.m. until noon CDT.

Participants will hear from Dr. Mary-Margaret A. Fill and Jane Yackley, who both serve as epidemiologists with the Tennessee Department of health. Our discussion will aim to summarize recent data trends of Covid-19 transmission in Tennessee. We will also review prevention and mitigation measures for the spread of the virus, and we will discuss the implications of the Delta variant.

Submit an original photo for a chance to be featured at our next Annual conference!

Contest Rules:

1. Rural People – focus of the photo should be on people, not their background surroundings

From WUOT 91.9 Knoxville: 

More than a quarter of Tennessee counties don’t have a hospital and a fifth don’t even have an emergency facility, though they may have an ambulance service. When a hospital closes or there's no hospital at all, rural economies suffer. It's impossible to recruit businesses and to keep employers, residents, and retirees in the area. The communities impacted by all of this are disproportionately made up of the uninsured, the elderly, the chronically ill, and those living in poverty.

WUOT's Chrissy Keuper spoke with members of state agencies, nonprofits, and social justice advocacy about what the present and future look like for healthcare in Tennessee’s rural counties.

Listen Here

6th Annual Student, Resident and Faculty Virtual Poster Competition Information 

This virtual research poster competition is a low-cost way for students, residents and faculty to share their research without the costs of producing a “hard-copy” poster.  

Division winners and the overall winner will receive a gift certificate or modest cash award (check).

The Tennessee Department of Health assures families across Tennessee that information and access to vaccinations for children through state health departments continues and there has been no disruption to these services.

While misinformation has been circulated regarding the status of these resources, parents who need information regarding routine childhood immunizations can find resources here. Parents seeking the COVID-19 vaccine for children 12+ can find additional information here.

Article is written by Taylor Sisk. Published on www.NationalGeographic.com July 14, 2021. We are sharing snippets and quotes from RHA of TN and National Rural Health Association. Please read full article here.

Hope amidst declining health care

Across the nation, 12 states have not yet adopted Medicaid expansion as allowed for under the Affordable Care Act. None of the eight states with the most rural hospital closures has implemented expansions. (Voters in two of those states, Missouri and Oklahoma, last year approved ballot measures to expand.)

Rural Health Association of Tennessee (RHA of TN) is proud to have recently received approval as a registered Apprenticeship Program by the United States Department of Labor and a pre-Apprenticeship program by Tennessee Department of Labor.

This spring RHA of TN worked with West Tennessee Healthcare to register an apprenticeship program for Patient Care Tech/Nursing Assistant roles. Apprenticeships are paid on-the-job work experiences paired with mentoring over the course of 2000 hours. When requirements of the program are met, apprentices receive a nationally recognized certificate in their field.

The March of Dimes Tennessee is looking for volunteers to participate in a focus group. Join the conversation about healthy moms and babies in your communities. Participation is important in identifying and bridging the gaps in maternal health in Tennessee. 

NRHA sent to Secretary Xavier Becerra a letter regarding the HHS CARES Provider Relief Fund.

In it, NRHA reiterates our ongoing concerns (already shared with HHS on numerous occasions) about the implementation of the Provider Relief Funds, as well as the newly created Health Care Heroes Sustainability Fund.  We urge Secretary Becerra to make critical changes to this program in order to support rural provider across America.  NRHA will keep you all up to date on a response or other activity from the Department on this issue. 

The US-HAMP (United States Hepatitis Academic Mentorship Program), a program of the Kentucky Rural Health Association would like to invite you to the US-HAMP Summit on July 27, 2021. This will be a virtual event for Key State Leaders.  Please refer to HAMP attachment for agenda/program about US-HAMP.

US-HAMP is a multi-state collaborative learning network to train key state leaders on the implementation of a successful HAMP model in an effort to empower primary care providers in their state to screen, diagnose, evaluate, treat, cure and report hepatitis C outcomes.  Current HAMP best practice will be discussed by state leaders in Kentucky and West Virginia.

From RHA of TN's Past President of RHA of TN's Board of Directors 

I am excited to issue a call for nominations from our members that would like to serve on the Board of Directors. The board provides governance, direction, and oversight of the Association and its many programs, projects, and activities. There are several seats opening for the 2022 term year in each grand division.

Board positions are for a three-year term, with an option to renew for another three years after the conclusion of the first term. The commitment is relatively minimal with quarterly meetings / conference calls and occasional assistance on committees and projects. To be eligible, an individual must be a member in good standing and live in Tennessee.

Last week, the Tennessee Department of Education released the Educator Emotional Support Video Series to  provide free, optional resources to support the mental health of Tennessee educators, created in partnership with statewide partners. 

In support of Teacher Appreciation Month and Mental Health Awareness Month this May, the video series provides guidance, resources, and interactive activities by two licensed clinical social workers focusing on the mental health of Tennessee educators in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Click Here

RHA of TN hosted a 4 part series on addressing vaccine hesitancy in rural Tennessee. Visit our Rural Resource Center to view the recordings and access the resources that went with the webinar.

View Recordings

Click here to read presenter bios.

Elizabeth Ball is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who specializes in integrated health care models in Tennessee. Join her and Mike Coleman, CEO of McKenzie Medical Center, a rural health clinic in West Tennessee to talk about their integrated health model on May 4th, 2021 from 11am - 12pm Central.

Learning Objectives:

Rural Health Association of Tennessee is proud to announce the inaugural class of the Rural Health Leadership Academy! The below individuals were selected for their commitment to rural health and their desire to grow as leaders.

The academy will be led by Dr. Bill Auxier, Executive Coach, CEO and President of Dynamic Leadership Academy, and Executive Director of Rural Health Leadership Radio. Over the course of 10-weeks participants will complete a variety of in-person, on-demand, and group learning modules, earning a certificate in Rural Health Leadership.

The below article written by Maria Clark, published in the Tennessean March 24th discusses the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package executed on March 11th that includes $8.5 billion in funding set aside for rural health providers. 

The article quotes representatives from the National Rural Health Association and Rural Health Association of Tennessee. (Read article here)