Tennessee Rural Health Care Center of Excellence

03/13/2026

Director Matt McDaniel, MPH, traveled to Dyer County this week, where he met with members of the Dyer County Community Health Council and with Scott Barber, chief executive officer of West Tennessee Healthcare Hospital in Dyersburg. It was great to meet our neighbors to the north!

03/11/2026

Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner John V. Dunn, DVM, PhD, EMBA, will be the keynote speaker at the inaugural Tennessee Rural Health Care Center of Excellence Conference on April 21 in Memphis. This free, one-day, continuing education event is designed for anyone who has an interest in the future of rural health care in Tennessee. Other speakers include Michael Meit, MA, MPH, director of the ETSU Center for Rural Health and Research, and rural health care leaders from around the state. Learn more and register at https://rural-health.uthsc.edu/

03/03/2026

Please join the Center for an informative webinar on Rural Populations, Health, and Data for Tennessee at noon CST on March 25! Our speakers will be members of the ETSU Center for Rural Health and Research, including Director Michael Meit, MA, MPH, and Research Assistant Professors Casey Balio, PhD, and Kayla Alvis, PhD. Learn more and register at https://rural-health.uthsc.edu/

02/26/2026

Director Matt McDaniel, MPH, has visited at least one dozen Tennessee counties on his listening tour to meet health care leaders in rural communities. And he’s just getting started. “As I visit health care leaders throughout rural Tennessee, I am learning from them – the experts – about how the Tennessee Rural Health Care Center of Excellence can work to provide resources and assistance to support sustainable solutions to their health care challenges,” he said.
This week, he visited McNairy and Hardin counties and began his travels into Middle Tennessee by visiting Humphreys County. He’s pictured here with Jim Edmondson, MHHSA, CPPS, CEO of Hardin Medical Center in Savannah (left) and with members of the Tennessee Department of Health - West Region, and the Hardin County Health Department. The work of the Center of Excellence is an example of how the University of Tennessee Health Science Center supports health care solutions for Tennesseans. Learn more at https://rural-health.uthsc.edu/

02/23/2026

The Rural Health Clinic Compliance Webinar is this Wednesday! Be sure to register and attend: https://tennesseehipaa.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SBs_g14mTsuY8plwsspX-A #/registration

Registration is now open for our Feb. 25 webinar on “Rural Clinic Compliance Simplified: Tools, Pitfalls, and Proven Practices!” Kate Hill, RN, vice president of rural health for The Compliance Team, Inc., will be our speaker. Register here: https://tennesseehipaa.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SBs_g14mTsuY8plwsspX-A #/registration

02/18/2026

Director Matt McDaniel was happy to visit the Hardeman County Health Council this week. He met with Chelsea White, Healthy Development Coordinator for the Tennessee Department of Health West Region (left), and Linda Woods, Health Educator for the Hardeman County Health Department.

02/12/2026

Director Matt McDaniel's latest road trip took him to the the Fayette County Health Council meeting at the UT Martin Somerville Campus. He met with health educator Alvin Wright Jr., and with Tina Boam, director of the Fayette County Health Department, to share opportunities to connect with the Center.

02/11/2026

Several members of the Center leadership team are at the UT System Grand Challenges Summit, this week. They are part of important conversations around the challenge of strengthening rural communities.

02/09/2026

Registration is now open for our Feb. 25 webinar on “Rural Clinic Compliance Simplified: Tools, Pitfalls, and Proven Practices!” Kate Hill, RN, vice president of rural health for The Compliance Team, Inc., will be our speaker. Register here: https://tennesseehipaa.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SBs_g14mTsuY8plwsspX-A #/registration

02/04/2026

It has already been a busy week for Center Director Matt McDaniel, MPH! On Monday, he traveled to Huntingdon, TN, where he met with the CEO of Baptist Memorial Health Care – Carroll County, Susan Breeden. Then he went on to Milan, where he met with the CEO of West Tennessee Healthcare-Milan Hospital, Sherry Scruggs (left), and to Gibson County to meet Danna Taylor, CEO of the Gibson County Community Health Center. On Tuesday, Matt traveled to Haywood County to meet with Michael Banks, CEO of the Haywood County Community Hospital, and Joe Barden IV, the Chairman of the Haywood County Joint Economic Community Development Board.

01/30/2026

In spite of the snow, Center of Excellence Director Matt McDaniel, MPH, continued his visits to rural communities this week. Most recently, he traveled to Obion County and met with Skipper Bondurant, administrator and CEO Of Baptist Memorial Health Care - Union City.

01/29/2026

Mark your calendars now for our first annual conference! Follow this page and our website for details as they develop: https://rural-health.uthsc.edu/