UT Health Science Center receives $12M grant to close rural health care gaps

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center will lead a four-year initiative aiming to close health care gaps for rural Tennesseans, funded by a $12 million grant from the Tennessee Department of Health.

The school announced the creation of the Tennessee Rural Health Care Center of Excellence on Tuesday. The center will be led by College of Nursing Dean Wendy Likes and College of Medicine Professor Jim Bailey.

“Health should not depend on where you live,” Tennessee Health Commissioner John Dunn said in a news release. “Rural Tennessee faces unique health challenges. This partnership with UT Health Science Center will combine statewide expertise with local partnerships, expanded workforce development, and investment in programs prioritizing the health of our rural Tennesseans.”

About 1.5 million Tennesseans live in areas outside of non-metropolitan areas, according to the U.S. Census. But Tennessee ranks second in the nation for rural hospital closures from 2010 to 2025, according to a USDA report published in January. A recent report by the Physicians Advocacy Institute found that rural Tennessee patients lost access to 362 independent doctors and 344 independent medical practitioners as hospital systems consolidated between 2019 and 2024.

The Tennessee Rural Health Care Task Force remarked in its June 2023 report that “the need to invest in solutions to improve access to care and health outcomes for rural Tennesseans is urgent.” Establishing the Rural Health Care Center for Excellence was among that task force’s recommendations. 

Dunn will appoint a steering committee to serve as an advisory group for the center during its first year. The university plans to build on its existing partnerships throughout the state to provide technical assistance, research, workforce development and investments to increase access to care, Bailey said in the release. 

The UT Health Science Center, based in Memphis, also has educational and clinical campuses at hospitals in Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga, in addition to other clinical sites. The University of Tennessee’s Institute of Agriculture already runs extension offices that provide resources for farmers in all 95 counties, and can serve as an additional contact point for rural residents, the release states.

The center will have five core areas of focus:

• Providing technical support and encouraging collaboration
• Evaluating and sharing impact
• Identifying and piloting innovative solutions
• Sharing best practices throughout the state
• Helping healthcare practices to find sustainable funding and optimize their practices

The UT Health Science Center has a history of partnerships and projects in rural Tennessee, including multiple mobile health clinics.

Its Nursing Mobile Health Unit tallied 504 patient encounters in Lake and Lauderdale counties over the last year. In Southeast Tennessee, the UT Chattanooga Mobile Medical Outreach Clinic provides care to older adults and their caregivers using a medical van. The school’s Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology began offering mobile services in rural East Tennessee in April.

The center’s Tennessee Population Health Consortium will also expand its Neighborhood Health Hub Program — which provides health screenings for obesity, hypertension and diabetes — into Hardin and Decatur counties.

Eleven students are expected to graduate from the College of Pharmacy’s Rural Health Certificate program in May 2026.