The University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing has been awarded a $3.6 million, three-year grant that will put a second mobile health unit and nurse practitioners on the road in Hardeman, Haywood, and Dyer counties to increase health care access.
The grant comes from the Rural Health Care Resiliency Program of the Tennessee Department of Health, which awarded 23 grants amounting to $45.7 million to reach counties designated as at-risk or distressed. Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Affairs Diana Dedmon, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, AFN-C, is the grant’s principal investigator.
“Through our current Mobile Health Unit program in Lake and Lauderdale counties, we have seen firsthand how bringing care directly to rural communities breaks down barriers, builds trust, and changes lives,” said Dr. Dedmon, the Michael Carter Endowed Professor at the college. “As we look forward to expanding this work with the Tennessee Department of Health Rural Resiliency grant, we remain committed to partnering with local communities to deliver compassionate care and to strengthening the health and resilience of West Tennessee’s rural counties.”
In 2022, the College of Nursing received a $3.9 million, four-year grant that enabled it to provide health care to Lake and Lauderdale counties using a mobile health unit staffed by an advanced practice nurse. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant also allowed the college to integrate rural health education into its undergraduate and graduate programs.
Both Hardeman and Haywood counties are designated as distressed by the Appalachian Regional Commission, which prepares an index of county economic status for every county in the United States. Distressed counties rank among the 10% most economically distressed counties in the nation.
The counties also suffer from health care provider shortages. For example, Hardeman County ranks 27th among the 95 Tennessee counties for a shortage of primary care providers, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. Haywood County has no obstetric care providers.
With funding from the Rural Resiliency Grant, the second mobile health unit will serve as an on-site health care access point for Hardeman and Haywood counties weekly. The unit will offer psychiatric mental health care by a full-time psychiatric nurse practitioner and primary care services by a full-time advanced practice nurse. Other services will include menopausal care, chronic disease management with remote patient monitoring, social services, and women’s health services. The college will also work to extend Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner services by telehealth to Hardeman General Hospital. The outreach will provide women’s health services one Saturday each month to women in a group home in Dyer County who are transitioning from the justice system back to society.
“Our students, faculty, and staff have learned that meeting people where they are, both geographically and personally, is essential to improving health outcomes and addressing health disparities,” Dr. Dedmon said.
College of Nursing Dean Wendy Likes, PhD, DNSc, APRN-BC, FAAN, FAANP, said, “We are excited to bring another example of nurse-led care to increase access and improve health care for residents in rural Tennessee.” Dr. Likes is the executive director and special advisor on rural health for the university.
David Livingston is the mayor of Haywood County and a fifth-generation resident. “We are very appreciative of the state of Tennessee to reach out to Haywood and Hardeman counties. They are both at-risk counties in need of medical services,” he said. “Many times, people do not know what signs dictate the need for medical services. There is an old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and we are hoping that you all can serve that niche for the county.”
Mayor Todd Pulse of Hardeman County said, “We are very excited and thankful for the opportunity to work with UT Health Science Center in bringing this mobile unit to Hardeman County. There is a great need here for the services that will be offered. Health care is vital and essential to all our citizens, and we look forward to a long and lasting partnership.”
Co-investigators on the grant include Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Community and Global Partnerships Lisa Beasley, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, AFN-C; Associate Professor and Director of Special Academic Programs Laura Reed, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, CNE, FNAP; and Associate Professor Andrea Sebastian, DNP, APRN, CPNP-AC/PC, AFN-C, SANE-P, DM-AFN.
During the first year of the three-year rural resilience project, the grant team will establish community advisory boards in Hardeman and Haywood counties to ensure local engagement. In addition, they will deploy the mobile health unit to the three selected counties and expand telehealth services to include five counties: Hardeman, Haywood, Dyer, Lake, and Lauderdale.
In the second year, the unit will offer expanded clinical services including sickle cell and sexual assault care. The team will also complete the unit’s rural health clinic certification.
During the third year, the team will implement a sustainability plan and ensure up to 10,000 service encounters each year through the unit and telehealth services.
Dr. Sebastian said, “Expanding SANE services in rural West Tennessee is a critical step toward ensuring that survivors of sexual violence receive timely, compassionate, and expert care – regardless of where they live. Through this grant, we are not only improving health outcomes but also strengthening the pathway to justice.”