Project Description:

Overview

The Arkansas Center for Nursing and the Tennessee Action Coalition partnered to implement the “Nurses Building a Culture of Health in the Arkansas-Tennessee Delta” project. The goal of this project was to recruit ten cities/towns along the Arkansas-Tennessee Delta that would place nurses on their housing and planning boards by 2022.

Summary of completed project

Due to COVID-19, implementation has been delayed until February 2022 at which time live virtual trainings will take place. These trainings will be available through the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center CE Now portal for nurses to access and complete on their own for three years (until 2025). The planning phase was successful in large part because of the active role of the Advisory Group, who were instrumental in identifying potential participants and partnerships. The Advisory Group included representatives from: Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansas Hometown Health Improvement Project leads, Memphis Habitat for Humanity, Tennessee Department of Primary Prevention, Tennessee Housing Development Agency, Tennessee Government Affairs, University of Memphis, and Memphis Area Association of Governments.

Having a strong Advisory Group allowed for the development of partnerships from across Arkansas and Tennessee that included: state health departments, nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity, universities, and other government agencies. Sharing project outcomes at conferences and meetings is the first step in generating interest for project replicability amongst other states and regions.

Outcomes

The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the start of the project, however, the planning phase is complete due to the active Advisory Group which has helped expand and strengthen partnerships.