Stories about Access

1. 

   Report Card: Dental Health In Tennessee

   Tennessee ranks 38th for dental health in the nation. Here’s how we stack up.

   Report Card: Dental Health In Tennessee: How our mouths affect our health

   Tennessee ranks 38th for dental health in the nation. Here’s how we stack up.
2. 

   The Path to Parenthood

   For Torey Covington, motherhood was a journey that she expected to face alone. “I was 19 and pregnant and didn’t have any support from my child’s father,” Covington says. “I couldn’t even finish school.” “I was young and lost, and I didn’t know where I was heading.” “But as soon as I met my case worker from Baby University, MaryBeth Steffey,  I knew I was in good hands.” Since 2015, Baby University has been partnering with expectant parents and those with young children to create sustainable futures so children can thrive. The Chattanooga-based program focuses on childhood development from prenatal stages to preschool. And it provides mothers and fathers with the tools to enhance a child’s stability while achieving their […]

   The Path to Parenthood: Two women talk about how Baby University helped them realize their full potential

   For Torey Covington, motherhood was a journey that she expected to face alone. “I was 19 and pregnant and didn’t have any support from my child’s father,” Covington says. “I couldn’t even finish school.” “I was young and lost, and I didn’t know where I was heading.” “But as soon as I met my case worker from Baby University, MaryBeth Steffey,  I knew I was in good hands.” Since 2015, Baby University has been partnering with expectant parents and those with young children to create sustainable futures so children can thrive. The Chattanooga-based program focuses on childhood development from prenatal stages to preschool. And it provides mothers and fathers with the tools to enhance a child’s stability while achieving their […]
3. 

   Walking in Memphis

   “Just start walking.” When doctors encourage people to start exercising, walking is often step one. It’s an activity most people can do, it’s easy and it’s free — but it’s not always that simple. “You can’t tell someone to go and walk their neighborhood if there’s no sidewalk, or to walk around the park if there’s no park,” says Jenny Bartlett-Prescott, senior director of integrated health programs for Church Health in Memphis. As a nonprofit providing services to those with little or no access to health care, Church Health sees firsthand how the environment matters. The built environment includes all of the physical parts of where we live and work: homes, buildings, streets, open spaces. According to the CDC, the […]

   Walking in Memphis: How the built environment affects health: Q&A with Church Health’s Jenny Bartlett-Prescott

   “Just start walking.” When doctors encourage people to start exercising, walking is often step one. It’s an activity most people can do, it’s easy and it’s free — but it’s not always that simple. “You can’t tell someone to go and walk their neighborhood if there’s no sidewalk, or to walk around the park if there’s no park,” says Jenny Bartlett-Prescott, senior director of integrated health programs for Church Health in Memphis. As a nonprofit providing services to those with little or no access to health care, Church Health sees firsthand how the environment matters. The built environment includes all of the physical parts of where we live and work: homes, buildings, streets, open spaces. According to the CDC, the […]

Stories about Workforce Development

1. 

   The Front of the Line

   In Chattanooga, STEP-UP gives low-income high school students work-readiness training and paid internships. Here’s how one intern describes his time at the aquarium in Chattanooga.

   The Front of the Line: STEP-UP intern Chegrys Palacios talks about what his time at Chattanooga’s Tennessee Aquarium means to him

   In Chattanooga, STEP-UP gives low-income high school students work-readiness training and paid internships. Here’s how one intern describes his time at the aquarium in Chattanooga.
2. 

   Childhood Experiences Drive Career Aspirations

   Minority scholars entering medical fields will help foster inclusion and address healthcare disparities.

   Childhood Experiences Drive Career Aspirations: Minority scholars entering medical fields will help foster inclusion and address healthcare disparities

   Minority scholars entering medical fields will help foster inclusion and address healthcare disparities.
3. 

   Nursing Talent

   JoVan McClain always loved children. “When my friends’ moms would have babies, I would always go to their houses and help out,” McClain, 19, remembers. “I just fell in love with children. I always wanted to be a nurse, and then in high school I did a project where I had to make an incubator — one like neonatal nurse practitioners use — and it was so interesting. “I knew that I wanted to work in the NICU.” Now in her freshman year at Belmont University, McClain is so clearly in her element it’s hard to imagine this future wasn’t always within her reach. “When I was really young, we used to drive by Belmont every day,” she recalls. “It […]

   Nursing Talent: The dream of college becomes a reality for a young woman who plans a health care career

   JoVan McClain always loved children. “When my friends’ moms would have babies, I would always go to their houses and help out,” McClain, 19, remembers. “I just fell in love with children. I always wanted to be a nurse, and then in high school I did a project where I had to make an incubator — one like neonatal nurse practitioners use — and it was so interesting. “I knew that I wanted to work in the NICU.” Now in her freshman year at Belmont University, McClain is so clearly in her element it’s hard to imagine this future wasn’t always within her reach. “When I was really young, we used to drive by Belmont every day,” she recalls. “It […]