Wendy Likes, PhD, DNSc APRN-Bc, FAAN, FAANP, dean of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing, will fill a new role as executive director and special advisor on rural health for the university. Dean Likes will continue her role as the College of Nursing’s dean.

The appointment reflects the outstanding work the college has done in bringing needed primary care services to rural communities in West Tennessee through mobile health outreach.

Building upon the recommendations of a gubernatorial task force that addressed rural health needs in Tennessee, Dean Likes will collaborate with the other UT Health Science Center deans and with Paul Wesolowski, vice chancellor for Strategic Partnerships, and Cindy Russell, PhD, vice chancellor for Academic, Faculty, and Student Affairs, to advance care, training, and retention of health sciences-trained clinicians in rural communities.

The College of Nursing leads several rural health outreach and education programs. Dean Likes leads one of the college’s newest rural health projects, the Tennessee Rural Nurse Scholars program. Funded through a $300,000 grant from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, this 17-month effort will expand work-based opportunities in rural communities by strengthening the nursing pipeline.

The college’s other rural initiatives are funded through $12.58 million from a variety of sources. One major grant provides primary care in rural Lake and Lauderdale counties. Another offers financial support for nursing students committed to rural and underserved areas. In addition, a UT Grand Challenges grant will send three vans into rural areas to provide education, outreach, and training to nearby rural communities and to their health care workforces.

The College of Dentistry, in collaboration with the Tennessee Department of Health, began a five-year, $53 million project in 2023 to increase access to dentists and dental care across Tennessee, with a focus on the rural areas with the most need.  Funded by the state and called the Healthy Smiles Initiative, the ambitious project is a multipronged approach to tackling the current shortage of dentists in Tennessee and improving health across the state by making dental care more readily available. The Tennessee Department of Health has committed a total of $94 million for its overall statewide Healthy Smiles oral health effort.