Meharry Medical College brings more care to rural Tennessee

Meharry Medical College is based in Nashville, but the academic health center is going out into rural areas of Tennessee to serve those in need.

The historically Black medical school has opened more clinics and is sending mobile units into rural Tennessee communities. Meharry is offering more access to medical care and expanding outreach to those sorely in need of dental care.

Dr. Julie Gray, associate dean of community affairs at Meharry Medical College, tells Chief Healthcare Executive® that the work fits in with Meharry’s mission. She’s leading expanded dental services in Shelbyville, a small city about 90 minutes from Nashville.

She tells Chief Healthcare Executive® that the dental care outreach provides services to those in need and offers invaluable experience for students. And Gray hopes that some of those students will look to help underserved areas.

“We do fillings, we do cleanings, we do extractions and dentures and partials,” Gray says. “And in doing that, what we're doing is exposing our next best and brightest to what it's like to serve in a rural community and see those patients with some of those social determinants of health that they're going to see when they leave, and prayerfully, they're going to serve in some of those communities.”

Aiming for better health

In addition to providing dental services, the outreach efforts are also helping those with other needs as well. Gray recalls one patient who had very high blood pressure. She helped get him to see a primary care doctor.

But they also built a rapport with that patient, who has since returned for more dental work.​​

“We helped him understand and we talked about trust. That was the trust that we instill to help him get the care that he needed,” Gray says.

Meharry’s clinics and mobile units aim to establish trust and build relationships with patients so they aren’t just tackling immediate problems. Gray says the hope is to gain credibility with patients so they return for other needs and maintain better health.

Gray talks about going beyond helping patients have better smiles.

She points to the need to help fix teeth as a step to preventing other health problems.

“Oral health is connected to the entire body,” Gray says.

“Part of the systemic diseases that happen in our communities, the diabetes, the high blood pressure, are from the loss of teeth,” she explains. “And so if we can prevent tooth loss, one tooth at a time, we can help those in those underserved and rural communities be able to chew their foods better, digest their foods better and just lead to better overall health.”

Gray also relishes the opportunities for medical students such as Kyla Marks, who has worked with patients in Shelbyville. Marks says she enjoys the chance to work with patients who have been unable to afford dental care or have been leery of going to a dentist due to past experiences that were unpleasant.

“They're telling me what they can't wait to eat now, because I'll be able to help restore their smile,” Marks says. “So I think that is a really rewarding part.”

When she gets her degree, Marks says she wants to work in underserved areas.

“I'm kind of focusing my attention on working with kids, because I want to help make a positive impact from an early age, so that later on in life, they're not scared to go to the dentist, that they had a positive experience in life, and they want to keep continuing to go to the dentist, because oral health care is really important,” she says.

• Read more: Tackling the decline of Black students entering medical schools

‘Who we are’

Gray sees the outreach to rural areas as part of Meharry’s fundamental mission of service.

“It is aligned with who we are and what we do, and the experiences that we have resonate with why we, first of all, chose to come to this institution,” Gray says.

Meharry is teaming with the Tennessee Department of Children's Services on its mobile units, and the medical college is also partnering with other community organizations and churches.

For healthcare organizations looking to offer more care in underserved areas, Gray suggests doing a study to find out community needs.

She also advises looking to other agencies and community groups for help.

“I would also go and look at different community partners for sustainability, because I think that that's very, very important moving forward into communities,” she says. “And I would look for partners like us, as Meharry, to help in those communities that are aligned with the mission of serving the underserved. So I think that those are key to making sure that people that need access to care receive it, because you want a partner that is going to be aligned with serving those needs as we are.”

• Read more: A medical school leader fears rising vaccine skepticism