Our History

Established in 2014, to ensure that Tennessee's charitable care organizations are equipped to effectively respond to the health care needs of vulnerable populations now and into the future.

The Tennessee Charitable Care Network (TCCN) was established in 2014 to ensure that Tennessee’s charitable care organizations are equipped to effectively respond to the health care needs of vulnerable populations now and into the future. Faced with common challenges, such as the changing healthcare landscape, limited financial resources, reliance on volunteers versus full-time staff, and a lack of training resources, key leaders within the state’s charitable clinics identified the need for a statewide membership association. TCCN was initiated by these leaders to provide a collective voice for charitable clinics, along with the resources and expertise needed to tackle shared challenges in an effective and efficient way. The leadership and collaboration provided by TCCN ensure that charitable clinics can successfully meet patient needs while navigating the changing environment, improving systems and quality, and developing services tailored to the unique needs and assets of each community.

TCCN Timeline

2012
Community and Faith-based clinics begin discussions about shared needs and desire to work together to advocate for service to their communities.

2013
A Steering Committee is formed from participants at a convening meeting in May to assess the need for a statewide association. Tennessee's first statewide conference is held at the Hospital Corporation of America headquarters with staff from 20 clinics attending.

2014
TCCN is incorporated as a 501c3 nonprofit charitable organization on February 25, 2014. Membership is then opened to all qualified charitable care organizations acorss the state of Tennessee. In 2014, TCCN's inaugural year, the organization received funding from three different foundations across the state. These grants were extremely important and allowed TCCN to kick-start programming and hire an Executive Director.

2015
The Board of Directors met at least monthly in 2014 and 2015 and is very motivated to ensure TCCN is sustained and making progress toward its goals.
 
Accomplishments in 2014 and early 2015 include: 22 clinics of approximately 50 statewide have joined the network; 18 clinics have participated in member surveys framing their educational needs as well as developing common data for reporting; a development plan has been initiated with grant prospect research completed and a case for support drafted; the first annual educational conference was held with 40 participants from 15 clinics participating; and a legislative day on Tennessee's Capitol Hill was cohosted with the Tennessee Primary Care Association (TPCA) with 15 charitable clinic representatives participating.
 
TCCN, in partnership with the TPCA, successfully advocated to not only maintain the current $12 million Health Care Safety Net Fund in the state budget but also to increase it by $1.5 million for the next fiscal year. This state allocation provides funding to both Federally Qualified Health Centers and Community and Faith-Based Clinics to cover a portion of the cost of medical and dental services to uninsured adults. Another accomplishment is that TCCN has established a strong partnership with the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH). TDH contracted with TCCN to host a Health Literacy Workshop in May 2015. Twenty-eight TCCN members representing 17 charitable clinics attended. TCCN will produce a written workshop summary, a presentation for TDH internal use, and a list of recommendations for practical ways to address health literacy among the target population of low-income, uninsured residents. TDH has indicated a strong interest in working collaboratively with TCCN on projects aimed at improving the health of the underserved in Tennessee. For instance, TDH is requiring all clinics receiving state safety net funding to partner with a local health department on a primary or preventive health initiative. TCCN will be in communication with organization members about this project and offer technical assistance to ensure their collaborative initiatives are successful.