About

Founded in 1995, The Rural Health Association of Tennessee (RHA of TN) is a not-for-profit 501c3 organization of individuals and organizations committed to improving the health of rural Tennesseans. Our members of rural health care providers, school health professionals, and others who care about rural health, have worked to affect positive change in the health and well-being of all rural people in Tennessee. By proactively involving our members, partner organizations, and policymakers, we identify rural health concerns and work to resolve those issues through service, education, and advocacy.

Vision

To be a trusted resource and affect positive change in the health and well-being of all rural Tennesseans.

Mission

Improve the health of rural Tennesseans through advocacy, education, and service.

Values of the Rural Health Association of Tennessee

The values with which we approach and accomplish our mission are as follows:

  1. Maintain a diverse membership that is representative of geographic locale, culture, gender, economic status, and racial or ethnic background within rural Tennessee.
  2. Embrace a holistic approach to health, which recognizes the inter-relationship that exists among social, physical and emotional well-being. 
  3. Harness the power of collaborating with agencies and organizations to positively impact health outcomes.
  4. Respect the autonomy and support the self-determination of local communities in identifying and resolving their unique health care needs.
  5. Empower members to affect positive change in rural health through grassroots efforts.
  6. Promote equitable access to appropriate and comprehensive, high-quality health services for rural Tennesseans.
  7. Acknowledge that a well-informed citizenry will increase rural health policy development.

(updated 2018)

Statement on Rural and Racial Disparities

Since our founding, Rural Health Association of Tennessee has been committed to advocating for better health outcomes among all Tennessee populations and upholding the above values. As a new generation of leaders emerge, witnessing new displays of age-old problems of health inequities, we felt it important to remind members and affirm for new and future members, our commitment to tackling rural and racial disparities. Click here to read our statement on rural and racial disparities. We repeat the invitation in this statement to contact us if there are ways we can better represent the needs of rural minority populations by emailing [email protected]