2004-Present | 2002-2003 | 1995-1999

From January through July 2000, THCN was funded by donations from individuals and organizations throughout the state of Tennessee. THCN assessed the commitment of the membership and the willingness to organizations to support their representative’s travel through in-kind donations. The decision was unanimous to continue to seek funding to sustain the organization. THCN applied for and was awarded a grant from the BlueCross BlueShield Community Trust. The purpose of the funding was to enable THCN to hire a grant writer. Beginning in July 2000, the Tennessee HealthCare Consortium for Nursing entered into a one-year contract with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee to provide a scope of services that was of mutual interest to both organizations. These efforts centered on access of Tennesseans to health care. This enabled THCN to hire an Executive Director and an administrative assistant, both on a half-time basis.

In August, 2000, Dr. Nancy B. Moody was hired as the first Executive Director of the organization and the THCN offices were relocated to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. During the subsequent fiscal year, data were collected to meet the scope of services for the BCBST contract, the organization was recognized as a 501[c]3 non-profit organization in the State of Tennessee, and as a charitable organization. Biannual meetings of the organization were conducted, as were research studies on nurse student career choice, nurse staffing survey on the retention and recruitment of nurses, and focus groups research on practicing registered nurses. Graduate students and faculty from East Tennessee State University, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the University of Tennessee, Memphis collaborated on research, published the findings and reported the findings at local, regional, state, and national meetings.

In November 2000, the Tennessee Nurses Association unanimously supported a resolution that the Tennessee Board of Nursing enter into a contract with TCN to establish a state-wide center for nursing work force planning and development.

THCN entered into a contract with the Tennessee Hospital Association (THA) to apply a forecasting model to Tennessee work force data in an attempt to forecast the demand for nurses in Tennessee. The Tennessee projections mirrored that of the national data that the nurse work force supply should exceed the demand through 2007. Thereafter, the demand outstrips the supply. Other data from the supplemental survey to licensed health care organizations were also analyzed and the information disseminated. Nurse vacancy rates were analyzed regionally.

In the spring of 2001, the Tennessee Primary Care Association and THCN applied for a grant from the Bureau of Health Professions to make the THCN data available in the public domain through a website, an interactive website, and the distribution of printed materials.

During this time, a decision was made to transform the organization from a consortium into a center for nursing work force planning and development. The name of the organization was officially changed to the Tennessee Center for Nursing, Inc. At the completion of the funding period, TCN and BSBST entered into a subsequent contract to use the data to impact health policy and decision-making. The contract extended from August 1, 2001 through July 31, 2002.

In September 2001, the Tennessee Board of Nursing voted to enter into a contract with the Tennessee Center for Nursing, Inc. A scope of services was developed that provided for TCN to serve as the research arm of the Tennessee Board of Nursing. Throughout this process, presentations were made at a variety of meetings including the Tennessee Association of Deans and Directors of Nursing Programs. All graduate nursing programs in the state were surveyed to determine their capacity and types of graduate nursing education available throughout the state. Concomitantly, data were collected on RN to BSN articulation practices in the state.

The Tennessee Nurses Association passed a resolution that TNA support the recommendation made by TCN that hospitals in Tennessee begin adopting the qualities that are present in hospitals and medical centers that have gained Magnet Hospital status.

The Tennessee Center for Nursing, Inc. began advertising for a full-time Executive Director. A Search Committee was formed and a decision was made that the TCN office would relocate to the Nashville area in the Cordell Hull Building. Because a full-time Executive Director was not hired by December 2001, TCN entered into a contract with Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, TN for the services of an Executive Director and Administrative Assistant.