Join us on October 28th from 9am-11am CST and hear from the Tennessee Division of TennCare. 

Join us for a free webinar entitled 'Making Sense of Strategy: Protecting our Communities Amidst COVID-19' on October 27th from 10-11am CST. Our guest speaker is Ashley Keese, MPH; Epidemiologist II; COVID-19 Case & Community Support Team Lead at The Tennessee Department of Health.

• Describe the current disease landscape of COVID-19 in Tennessee

• Deploy proactive strategies for mitigating COVID-19 risk

• Use evidence-based tools to make informed health decisions for you, your family, and your patients

Click Here to Register Today!

Congratulations to Jalynn Burress, Calandra Traylor, Errion Bells, and Adrienne Williams, who became Certified Licensed Phlebotomist in the month of September. They attended the phlebotomy course at Professional Allied Health, LLC in Memphis. The participants were referred by Kimberly Burse, Staff Development Coordinator, at Pine Meadows Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Bolivar, TN. They have been working with Maddy Rymer and Patty Lane, workforce development staff at the Rural Health Association of TN. 

Delta Regional Authority grant funding made it possible for the RHA workforce team to provide supportive services and case management support for the past six months.  Employees are encouraged to gain additional certifications and credentials along their healthcare journey.

RHA of TN would like to congratulate 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. 

Rural Health Association of Tennessee (RHA) has been awarded a $1million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services to combat Substance Use Disorder (SUD) in rural Tennessee over the next three years.

The announcement comes during National Recovery Month – an observance to bring public awareness surrounding mental health and addiction recovery. Tennessee, via the Behavioral Health Safety Network, prevention coalitions, and other change agents, have achieved many successes toward reducing Substance Use Disorder in the state. Most notably, opioid prescriptions have decreased statewide, resulting in fewer deaths involving opioids obtained through a prescription. Targeted prevention, treatment, and recovery programs do work.

Allie Haynes will represent Rural Health Association of Tennessee on Tennessee Council on Developmental  Disabilities.  The Council, established by the federal Developmental Disabilities Act (Spanish language version of the Developmental Disabilities Act.) and by Tennessee Executive Order 50 exists to:

• Build bridges between the experiences of real people with disabilities and the policies and service systems that affect their lives.
• See the big picture across government programs to help connect dots and fill gaps to meet real needs.. 
• Use these connections to make change toward greater inclusion, independence, and self-determination for people with disabilities in Tennessee.

To learn more about the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities, visit their website.

Would you like to learn more about maternal health in Tennessee? Family planning, pre- and postnatal care, maternal health disparities, roles of maternal healthcare professionals, maternal and fetal mortality rates are just a few of the topics that will be discussed in this webinar. Join us on October 12, 2022 from 11am-12pm CST. for our maternal health webinar entitled, "The State of Maternal Health: A Call to Action".

Click Here to Register

In November 2021, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh announced the Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative to bring   together industry, labor, education, equity and workforce leaders to partner with the department’s Office of Apprenticeship to promote Registered Apprenticeships as a valuable workforce strategy in high-demand industries to develop and expand opportunities for people historically underserved.

The goal of RHA’s apprenticeship program is to support the recruitment and retention of entry level healthcare workers such as Certified Nursing Assistants and Community Health Workers. Serving as an “Apprenticeship Sponsor,” RHA assists healthcare employers who need a partner in establishing a program and when possible, finding resources to support apprentices.

There’s nothing as important to families as the health and safety of their babies, and the formula shortage has left many people feeling anxious about how they’ll feed them. Some young children, teens, and adults with medical needs also rely on formula for their nutrition. We know it’s not easy to change a diet reliant on formula.

If you can’t find formula in stock, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has the following resources:
Press Release: FDA Provides Educational Resources for Parents and Caregivers to Support Confidence for Imported Infant Formula Products
Resources page: Resources for Parents and Caregivers on Imported Infant Formula
Consumer Update: Infant Formula Supply

Join us in congratulating Beth Keylon, and April Judkins of our Workforce Team. They were invited to attend and present at the 2022 CTE Innovation at Work Conference on July 21^st in Chattanooga. During their presentation, they shared workforce development information and services offered by RHA of TN to attendees across the state. What an wonderful opportunity! Way to go, Ladies!

If you are interested in Workforce Readiness resources, click here to visit our website or email [email protected]

NARHC is always working to provide RHCs with the advocacy, support, and resources they need, and member benefits they want. In an effort to help us grow and improve the services provided to you, we ask you take a brief survey. For contributing your vital feedback, you will be eligible to win a product from the NARHC Store! We ask that you complete this 10-minute survey by Friday, July 29. You may choose to leave your comments anonymously, and responses will not be shared with any third parties. If you are interested in learning more about NARHC and the services we can offer to you and your organization/clinic, please contact us at [email protected]. 

Yes, I want to help by taking the survey!

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 3 seat openings (1 per Grand Region) for the 2023 - 2025.

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 involves 4 meetings annually, attendance at the annual conference, and serving on at least 1 committee of the board. To be eligible, an individual must be a member in good standing and live in Tennessee.

Free COVID-19 Therapeutics Now Available!

All CMS-certified RHCs may now enroll in the HRSA RHC COVID-19 Therapeutics Program to receive a direct supply of free COVID-19 Antivirals! For more information click here.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government increased funding to hospitals and clinics and incentivized states to pause terminating enrollees from the Medicaid program to help increase access to health care and ease the financial burden caused by the global public health emergency. With the end of the pandemic in sight, we all need to prepare for the unwinding of the public health emergency (PHE). TennCare (our state’s Medicaid agency) has estimated that 300,000 people will lose their Medicaid health insurance after the PHE ends.

Hospitals and clinics are bracing for a significant reduction in funding, particularly in rural areas where providers were struggling even before the pandemic to provide health care to many uninsured people. Join the Rural Health Association of Tennessee and the Tennessee Justice Center to learn how the PHE unwinding will impact access to health care in your community. Click here to register today!

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposes new rule that creates a pathway for rural hospitals and critical access hospitals to increase access to emergency and outpatient care.

Click here to read CMS' statement on Expanding Access to Emergency Care Services in Rural Communities
Click here to read the Fact Sheet on Conditions of Participation for Rural Emergency Hospitals and Critical Access Hospital COP Updates (CMS-3419-P)

The TN AHEC Scholars Program seeks to develop, prepare, and sustain a culturally competent healthcare workforce that is prepared to deliver high quality care in a transforming heath care delivery system, with emphasis on training rural and urban underrepresented minority, and educationally disadvantaged students for practice in rural and/or underserved areas.

TN AHEC is currently accepting applications for the 2022-2024 cohort. Click here for informational letter. Click here to view the program brochure.

$5 Million for RHC Behavioral Health Initiative
Included in House Appropriations Report

The following statement is from STLT Policy & Public Health Partnerships in regards to under 5 year old vaccinations:

On Saturday, June 18^th, CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation to expand COVID-19 vaccination to children younger than 5 years of age. This decision now universally recommends COVID-19 vaccination for everyone 6 months and older, paving the way for about 20 million children in this age group to get vaccinated and allowing providers to begin vaccinating with either the Moderna or the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as soon as possible.