CPF has worked with the TN Department of Health on a grant making available to all practices, FREE educational materials and resources, to aid in the evidence-based education on immunizations for childhood, adolescents, and adults. This project includes live education and videos on timely topics, multimedia usable by practices, in-person QI coaching for MOC projects, opportunities in discounts for immunization purchasing, and an online toolkit with web-based modules for staff, handouts, posters, and messaging for families. 

This project runs July 1, 2021 to December 30, 2024.

CPF has collaborated with the State of TN to optimize care coordination protocols and increase access to care in pediatric and family medicine primary care practices located in low-income, minority, underserved, and rural populations across the state, and reduce the burden of staffing shortages and burnout by offering expert consultation advice and guidance. The project is a collaborative effort with the pediatric infectious disease team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and aims to increase one point of access using telemedicine in rural practices to provide consultations with the primary care pediatrician. 

This project runs November 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026.

THIS GRANT IS PENDING AWARD FROM THE STATE OF TN.

Cumberland Pediatric Foundation aims to expand access to mental health care in rural and underserved communities by integrating behavioral health support into primary care settings. Recognizing the challenges clinics face—such as staffing shortages, limited specialist availability, and the stigma surrounding mental health—CPF will implement a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach to improving care delivery.

Through stigma and trauma-informed training, we will equip healthcare providers with the tools to recognize, manage, and support patients with mental and behavioral health needs. Our training will include both in-person and multimedia formats, ensuring accessibility and flexibility for clinic staff. Additionally, CPF will assist clinics in implementing structured mental health care plans, developing data tracking processes to measure patient outcomes, and providing educational resources for both providers and families.

To further address gaps in specialist access, CPF will work with clinics to enhance their internal capacity for managing behavioral health concerns. This will include telehealth consultation strategies, workflow optimization for mental health screenings, and guidance on best practices for integrating mental health services into routine primary care visits. By strengthening care coordination and reducing administrative burdens, we will help clinics build sustainable mental health support systems that improve patient outcomes and provider satisfaction.

NOT ACTIVE

CPF partnered with the Tennessee Asthma Coalition (TAC), a nonprofit volunteer group of air quality and asthma subject matter experts in Tennessee, to address asthma and indoor air quality issues in public schools through an EPA-funded project titled “School Air Quality and Asthma Evidence-Based Interventions.”

The grant project, managed by CPF, engaged 10 pilot schools through: 1) In-person visits addressing each school’s adherence to the American Lung Association’s Asthma-Friendly Schools guidelines, conducted by TAC members; 2) Providing each visited school with an Asthma Action Plan that included a variety of resources to improve asthma and air quality issues inside the school; 3) Follow-up visits to gauge improvements made after the Asthma Action Plan was put into place.

The main goal of the project was to improve the school environment and air quality for students with asthma and raise awareness within the public school system about the need to reduce asthma triggers.

NOT ACTIVE

Vanderbilt partnered with primary care providers in the community in a research study through a virtual learning network, ECHO Autism. The overall goal of ECHO Autism was to offer community physicians (anyone with professional training in general pediatrics, family medicine, advanced practice nursing—NP or PA) an opportunity to develop more skills in managing and treating patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in their own practice settings. This included, but was not limited to, training on screening/identification and management of commonly seen medical co-morbidities.

CPF played a crucial role in supporting the logistical coordination and outreach to community physicians, facilitating participation, and ensuring smooth communication between providers and subspecialists. CPF helped recruit and engage community physicians, ensuring they were aware of the opportunity and supporting them throughout the process. Additionally, CPF worked with Vanderbilt to streamline the setup for virtual clinics and managed the distribution of CME credits and compensation for providers.

Community physicians worked alongside a group of autism subspecialists from Vanderbilt to better evaluate and manage patients with autism. The physicians attended a virtual telehealth ECHO clinic twice a month (a total of 12 clinics) with this group of subspecialists from Vanderbilt. Community providers were able to join through their smartphones or webcams instead of having to travel to Vanderbilt. Providers were compensated and also offered CME credits for the clinics they attended. The ECHO clinics ran every other Thursday, from June 8 to November 30, from 11 AM to 1 PM. Two case presentations were discussed during each clinic, followed by a short autism-related didactic presentation from one of the Vanderbilt subspecialists (topics included: What is Autism?, ADHD/Autism/Medication Use, Sleep and Autism, and more).