The land of Tennessee stretches from the scenic Great Smoky Mountains of the east to the banks of the Mississippi River in the west. Tennessee covers 41,217 square miles, with a 2006 estimated population of 6,038,803 people – with 1,641,951 living in rural Tennessee (USDA-ERS). Nashville is the state capital. The state’s largest cities are Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville. According to the 2006 Census, 80.4% of the state’s population is white, 16.9% is Black/African-American, and 3.2% is of Hispanic/Latino origin.
There are 127 hospitals in Tennessee, 55 of which
are located in rural areas (North Carolina Rural Health Research
and Policy Analysis Center, 2007). The state has 16
hospitals currently identified by the Flex Monitoring Team as Critical
Access Hospitals. There are 40 Rural Health Clinics in Tennessee,
and 22 Federally Qualified Health Centers provide services at 101
sites in the state (Kaiser, 2004). Thirteen percent of Tennessee
residents lack any health insurance (Kaiser, 2004-2005).
According to the Economic Research Service, the average per-capita income for all Tennessee residents in 2006 was $32,172, although rural per-capita income lagged at $25,422. Estimates from 2005 indicate a poverty rate of 18.2% exists in rural Tennessee, compared to 14.7% in urban areas of the state. Data from 2000 reports that 31.8% of the rural population has not completed high school, while 21.1% of the urban population lacks a high school diploma. The unemployment rate in rural Tennessee is 5.9%, while in urban Tennessee, it is 4.3% (USDA-ERS, 2007).
For a national comparison, please see an overview of the United States.
Data Sources:
U.S. Census Bureau:
State & County QuickFacts
USDA
Economic Research Service: State Fact Sheets
North
Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Kaiser
Family Foundation State Health Facts
Flex
Monitoring Team: Critical Access Hospital List
Organizations
Community Resource Group (CRG)
Nonprofit/Foundation
Works in rural areas to expand the opportunities for families to build assets, improve their lives, and strengthen their communities.
HUD Community Development Block Grants: Tennessee
Federal government
Contact information for the State CDBG program. Provides funding for community development projects.
National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Southeastern/Atlantic Region (NN/LM-SE/A)
State/regional organization
Works to improve access to health information for health care providers, librarians and the public in Alabama, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia and West Virginia.
Tennessee Association of Community Action
State/regional organization
Works to empower local agencies through advocacy, training, and the provision of technical assistance to promote self-sufficiency and personal growth in the individuals, families and communities of Tennessee.
Tennessee Child Support
State government
Supplies help in obtaining support (financial and medical) for a child when there is a parent that does not live with him/her.
Tennessee Department of Health
State government
Works to improve the health of all Tennessee residents.
Tennessee Department of Human Services
State government
Provides Adult & Family Services, Child Support, and Rehabilitation Services.
Tennessee Hospital Association (THA)
State/regional organization
Works to lead our members in advocacy for and support of community-based hospitals and health systems and to assist them in delivering accessible, cost-effective, quality health services.
Tennessee Office of Rural Health
State government
Works to improve and enhance the accessibility, availability, and affordability of quality health care in Tennessee by creating a central focus and coordination of rural health care resources. A division of the Tennessee Department of Health.
Tennessee Primary Care Association (TNPCA)
State/regional organization
Has a fundamental commitment to maximizing access to health care for all Tennesseans with emphasis on the medically underserved.
Tennessee Rural Health Association (RHAT)
State/regional organization
The Rural Health Association of Tennessee works to improve the policies and practices of health programs and services in Tennessee.
Tennessee Rural Health Recruitment & Retention Center, Inc. (TRHRRC)
State/regional organization
Mission is to enhance statewide collaboration on workforce planning to better serve rural and underserved communities and health providers in Tennessee by assisting in the recruitment, placement and retention of physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses and other health professionals.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Tennessee
Federal government
Works to increase homeownership, support community development and increase access to affordable housing. The HUD state office provides information about HUD housing programs and local contacts for the state.
USDA Rural Development Tennessee State Office
Federal government
Committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in all of rural America. The Rural Development State Office provides information about Rural Development programs and applications for financial assistance.
Tools
ERS State Fact Sheet: Tennessee
Web site
Statistics on population, educational attainment, employment, income, farm characteristics, and farm financial indicators for the state.
National Healthcare Quality Report State Snapshot: Tennessee
Web site
Health care quality report for the state, based on the National Healthcare Quality Report.
Rural Health Networking Project
Web site
Improves the quality of health care in rural Tennessee communities by promoting better communication and cooperation by those providing health-related services in rural areas. Facilitates communication, transmits information needed to obtain resources, and develops better ways of caring for people in rural areas.
State Profiles- Tennessee: Health Information Technology (HIT)
Web site
Profiles the state’s health information technology (HIT) issues. Contains sections on demographics, HIT legislation, telemedicine, Health Information Exchanges (HIE) & Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIO), grant funded HIT projects, and HIT survey information.
Tennessee QuickFacts
Web site
Basic demographic and economic statistics for the state, with links to county-level data.
Tennessee AgrAbility Project
Web site
Is a cooperative effort of the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service and Easter Seals in Tennessee. Is joined together to create a project to benefit Tennessee's farmers, farm workers and their family members who have disabilities.
Tennessee Community Level Information on Kids (CLIKS)
Web site
Provides data on child well-being for the state.
Tennessee Health Centers Data
Web site
Provides access to information on Federally Qualified Health Centers for the state. Includes a map of FQHC locations, as well as information on the populations served by health centers, services provided, staff, patient visits, costs of care, and use of electronic health information.
Tennessee Health Workforce: Highlights from the Health Workforce Profile
Web site
Highlights compile 2000 data on levels of employment, projected growth and key environmental factors that affect demand for health care. Details for medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, mental health and aides.
Tennessee State Health Facts
Database
The latest state-level data on demographics, health, and health policy, including health coverage, access, financing, and state legislation. Individual state profiles and 50-state comparisons.
Tennessee State Medicaid Profile
Web site
Provides data on Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for the state.
See also: Resources for All States: Tools Funding
Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation
Provides grants in communities where the company has operations.
Inactive Funding
Inactive Funding Opportunities -
Lists additional funding programs for this state that are not currently accepting applications. Programs that are inactive may be offered again in the future.
Documents, Reports and Other Publications
Around the Country: Tennessee Public Health Certificates Offered
Author(s): Hope Hanson
Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
Discusses a program where state public health workers at the Tennessee Department of Health can take online courses and receive certificates in applied epidemiology, health leadership, or healthcare management.
Journal citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 08 / 2005
Curing the Crisis in Nursing Education: A Master Plan for Tennessee
Discusses nursing workforce shortage issues in Tennessee.
Date: 01 / 2005
Demographic and Economic Profile: Tennessee
Author(s): Kathleen K. Miller
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute
Discusses demographic and economic data including population, race, education, age, poverty, income, and more. Includes maps and graphics.
Long-Term Impacts of Retiree In-Migration on Rural Areas: A Case Study of Cumberland County, Tennessee
Sponsoring organization: University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service
A summary of a report commissioned by the Institute for Public Service to inform state, local, and regional officials, and other interested individuals about the various impacts of a substantial influx of in-migrant retirees (IMRs) on a rural community.
Date: 01 / 2007
Small Business Profile: Tennessee
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Small Business Administration
Profile of the state's economy, covering the number of firms, industry composition, small business income, banking, women and minority business ownership, and employment.
Date: 2006
State Profiles - Tennessee: Reforming the Health Care System
Sponsoring organization: AARP Public Policy Institute
Detailed profile of the state's health care system. Covers demographics, expenditures and financing, health status, utilization and quality of services, health care providers, Medicare, Medicaid, health insurance coverage, and key trends.
Date: 12 / 2005
See also: Resources for All States: Documents Success Stories
Child and Maternal Health Program for Hardeman County, Tennessee
This outreach grant was used for a multifaceted program
designed to reduce teen pregnancy, low-birthweight babies, infant death rates, sexually transmitted diseases, lack of adequate prenatal care, child abuse, and neonatal deaths in Hardeman County, Tennessee.
Community Health Outreach (Talbott, TN)
This educational program in the heart of Appalachia teaches children, their parents, and educators how to stay healthy mentally and physically, and to access needed health services to attain this goal.
Drug Endangered Child Outreach Network Project
This project aims to deliver integrated medical and mental health services to the 24 Drug-Endangered Children/Drug-Endangered Infants and their families per year immediately upon identification.
Housing Health Education Rural Outreach (HHERO) Program
The LaFollette Housing Authority implemented the HHERO program to provide health education and primary care services to the residents of public housing throughout a seven-county area in rural east Tennessee.
Lewis County Rural Outreach Program
Through the collaboration of five area agencies, the project offered alcohol and drug abuse treatment, mental health services, medical assistance, support services for teen parents, transportation services, patient supplies, and community education and outreach.
Loudon School Health Consortium
A school-based health center to bridge the gap between health education and services.
Making TennCare Work
Making TennCare Work was designed to provide individuals enrolled in Tennessee's new managed care program with assistance in overcoming problems resulting from the abrupt
introduction of that program.
Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker Program
The Vanderbilt Center for Health Services’ Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker (MIHOW) program provides early intervention services to low income families in Nashville as well as other urban and rural areas in Appalachia and the Mississippi delta, including Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Public Health Certificates Offered Online
The Tennessee Department of Health created an online training program where department staff can earn certificates in applied epidemiology, health leadership or healthcare management.
Shared Information Technology (IT) Services
The Community Health Network was formed to share information technology (IT) resources among varying sized community health organizations across Tennessee, from one doctor, one location, to much larger groups in multiple locations.
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