Accessing disability services, especially in rural areas, has been a persistent challenge for many individuals and families. Tennessee Disability Pathfinder, or "Pathfinder," serves as a comprehensive resource hub to simplify this task. With a directory containing over 3,000 agency resources organized by county, including rural and marginalized communities, Pathfinder connects people with disabilities, their families, educators, and professionals to essential disability resources and services throughout the state.

Pathfinder's user-friendly website, Home - Tennessee Disability Pathfinder (tnpathfinder.org), offers an intuitive search tool, allowing users to narrow down results based on various criteria such as the stage of life, topic of interest, diagnosis, payment options, and service area. Users can create accounts to access additional features, including bookmarking resources, saving searches, submitting agency resources, and posting calendar events. The website also prioritizes accessibility, offering translation options in multiple languages.

Be There 

Reducing Stigma and Encouraging Recovery

The Tennessee Rural Community Opioid Response Program (TN-RCORP) Consortium, a program of Rural Health Association of Tennessee (RHA), is announcing their new "Be There" initiative.

With the goal of reducing stigma and encouraging support, the campaign aims to bring awareness to the benefits of being there for those battling behavioral health issues including substance use disorder (SUD) and opioid use disorder (OUD).

The Role of a Certified Labor Doula

Certified doulas provide non-biased emotional, physical, and informational support during pregnancy, labor and the birth process, and the immediate postpartum period. They also encourage informed decision making, model, teach, and encourage effective communication, and encourage cooperative, respectful, and positive atmosphere with the family and birth team.

Scholarship Information

Paid Training - RHA will be providing scholarships for the following certifications, a $1,250 value:

• Certified Labor Doula (CLD) | CAPPA
• Infant and Child First Aid Certification
• Mental Health First Aid Certification
• Students will be paid for their time in training at $25/hour
TOTAL VALUE PER TRAINING: $5,000 

Rural Health Association of Tennessee (RHA) is proud to announce it has been awarded a sub-contract from Findhelp as part of TennCare's Health Starts Initiative.

Findhelp is a technology company that connects individuals needing social care services with community providers in an efficient and easy-to-navigate Closed-Loop Referral System (CLRS), while protecting privacy. They will provide the technology that allows TennCare to assess non-medical risk factors of individuals in need through a unified approach and refer them to community-based organizations that can meet their needs, while tracking outcomes.

In partnership with Ovation Healthcare we've curated a series of virtual webinars specifically aimed toward Hospitals. Webinar Series - Click Each One for Details and Registration:

Time to Remember. Time to Act. Overdose touches people and communities in many ways. On August 31, International Overdose Awareness Day, let's support the people in our communities who go unrecognized by raising awareness of the hidden impacts of overdose, promoting education of overdose response, and reaching out to politicians to make lasting, lifesaving policy changes.

The 2023 theme, “Recognizing those people who go unseen,” is about acknowledging people in our communities who are affected by overdose but might go unseen in the crisis. 

National Breastfeeding Month is celebrated annually in August and is dedicated to raising awareness of the importance and benefits of breastfeeding for both infants and parents. The observance also aims to raise awareness of racial disparities in breastfeeding numbers and work towards reducing them by providing culturally sensitive support, education, and resources to communities facing more significant breastfeeding challenges. 

Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure a child's health and survival. Although more than 80 percent of mothers in the U.S. start off breastfeeding, less than a quarter exclusively breastfeed their baby at 6 months. According to the CDC, fewer non-Hispanic Black infants (74.1 percent) are ever breastfed compared with Asian infants (90.8 percent), non-Hispanic white infants (85.3 percent), and Hispanic infants (83.0 percent).

In order to achieve health equity, access barriers need to be removed and high quality, need-based resources allocated. Health equity promotion is the aspirational guarantee of optimal health for all.

In this article, five actionable strategies for promoting health equity are summarized by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Often, meaningful equity work requires major shifts in approaches, dedicated resources, and targeted efforts toward social justice.

What is the Certified Rural Health Clinic Professional Course (CRHCP) ?
RHCs have unique rules and regulations that require specialized knowledge and expertise. The course is designed specifically for Directors, Clinic Administrators, and other RHC leaders and covers all aspects of operating a successful RHC, including federal and state regulations, billing and coding, financial management, human resources, and more. Industry experts will provide you with the tools and resources needed to effectively manage your clinic, ensuring that it thrives and grows. 

Scholarships:
We are excited to offer a limited number of scholarships valued at $600 for those interested in completing the course! Applications must be received by August 31st, 2023. Click here to download and fill out the application. Please return it to Christin McWhorter, [email protected].

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) offers a search tool to enable users to find a safe and environmentally responsible way to dispose of medications by identifying public disposal locations for prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, and other pharmaceuticals.

By entering a zip code, users can access a list of disposal locations including retail pharmacies, hospitals, and hazardous waste centers. Users can also enter a city and state.

The Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-Based Epidemics (ESSENCE) is a national syndromic surveillance system used to monitor disease trends for early detection of potential disease outbreaks.

In Tennessee, the Department of Health (TDH) is using ESSENCE to monitor weekly trends in suicidal behavior and identify regions/counties across the state seeing increased incidents of persons reporting to an emergency department for suicide-related behavior. Each week, the Suicide Prevention Program within TDH will review reports on how many people visited a local ED for suicidal ideation or injuries related to self-harm or suicide attempts. If a certain county reports an above-average number of suicide-related visits for a certain age group, this will trigger an ESSENCE alert for that county and age group. These alerts will be issued weekly by TDH.

Join us for a virtual training webinar on Naloxone on June 27th from 11 am - 12 pm CDT! Topics to be covered include the causes and impacts of the overdose epidemic, the impact of substance misuse on the brain, harm reduction principles, recognizing and responding to an overdose, and how to administer Naloxone. 

Presenter:
Marissa Valentine
Sevier County Regional Overdose Prevention Specialist (ROPS)
Sevier County Office of Alcohol and Drug Programs
Sevier County C.A.R.E.S.

Register

We invite you to be a part of the conversation around rural health care by registering for our 29th Annual Conference, "Shining a Light on Rural Health, Advocating for a Brighter Future!" Enjoy networking with like-minded professionals, learning from industry experts, attending engaging sessions, and being part of shaping the future of rural health care in Tennessee. 

To register, and for more information about hotel accommodations and sponsorship opportunities, click here.

RCORP Drug Take-Back Event Flyer

Rural Health Association of Tennessee (RHA) has released an RCORP Drug Take-Back Event Flyer. Attached below is a flyer template with space for event details and a logo, as well as a PDF of instructions for using the flyer template. If you have a drug take-back event coming up, get the word out by using the resources below!

View the instructions and editable flyer here.

Join us this spring! 

Regional events are an opportunity to learn more about health issues affecting your community, such as substance use disorder, maternal health, and more. Lunch will be provided to in-person attendees.

A Town Hall, moderated by Jacy Warrell, RHA's CEO, will be available from 2:00-3:00pm. 

Brain Links is sharing a brief set of resources with partners as part of Tennessee Disability Coalition’s Tennessee Brighter Futures (TBF) Collaborative. The mission of TBF is Building brighter futures for Tennesseans by improving how systems of support collaborate to identify, educate and serve people with co-occurring needs.

The Collaborative meets every other month to learn about the intersections between brain injury and other systems of support and have a speaker from one of the systems present to our group. We learn more from each system as we go and we actively exchange resources like infographics, websites, screening tools and training to share to support one another and ultimately, better support those we serve.  

Tennessee has among the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the nation. RHA advocates for programs and

policies that prevent teenage pregnancy, provides case management services to pregnant women, and advances professional knowledge of providers.

RHA has published a Maternal Health in Tennessee policy brief modeled after the National Rural Health Association's 2021 Rural Obstetric Unit Closures and Maternal and Infant Health.

National Health Service Corps New Site Application Webinar Recording Now Available! Click here

The 2022 NHSC New Site Application Cycle is open and accepting applications through Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. E.T.
Have a question? Application help is available!
April 14, 2-4 p.m. ET: NHSC New Site Application Q&A Session #1
April 27, 12-2 p.m. ET: NHSC New Site Application Q&A Session #2