Tennessee’s health challenges are real, but so is the hope for change. At the BDHEA National Summit in Nashville, leaders and advocates came together to share bold ideas and practical solutions for building healthier communities across the state. This article highlights their vision for turning equity commitments into action and improving care for every Tennessean.
At the BDHEA Summit, Tennessee leaders and national experts shared practical solutions to strengthen care and improve health for all.
Health care touches every family, and for too many Tennesseans, the distance between a need and the ability to receive timely care remains wide. Whether it’s a pregnant mother trying to reach her prenatal appointments, a senior managing a chronic condition or a patient awaiting a routine screening, access often comes down to geography. When the closest provider is two hours away instead of twenty minutes, the barriers compound.
These challenges are especially acute in rural communities — which make up 93% of the state — and they contribute to a reality we cannot ignore: Tennesseans face some of the most difficult health outcomes in the country. Yet there is real reason for hope. Tennessee, and Nashville in particular, is home to extraordinary healthcare talent, innovation and commitment. With collaboration, care and coordinated action, we can create a healthier future.
That urgency is why we convened this fall’s Black Directors Health Equity Agenda (BDHEA) National Summit in Nashville, where leaders from across the country gathered to focus on improving care delivery and expanding health equity through innovation, compassion and strong governance.
Maternal mortality, hospital closings just two of TN’s health crises
BDHEA’s work centers on a simple but powerful mission: improving outcomes for patients by expanding access, strengthening community health and helping healthcare organizations better serve every population. We were honored to partner with Meharry Medical College and its School of Global Health to bring together board members, executives, clinicians, community health advocates and technology experts — all focused on patient care and wellbeing.
Tennessee stands at a crossroads as dedicated clinicians and healthcare teams confront challenging statewide statistics. Tennesseans have a life expectancy of 72.4 years, the sixth worst rate in the country. And Tennessee’s maternal mortality rates — an especially heartbreaking indicator — are the worst in America.
These numbers are not reflections of a lack of caring, dedication or effort on the part of our healthcare professionals. They reflect a growing need for support, resources and collaborative solutions.
Hospital closures deepen the challenge. Since 2010, more than a dozen Tennessee hospitals have closed, limiting access for rural families. For patients managing chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and COPD, routine care can become a logistical and emotional burden.
Meanwhile, Tennessee faces a healthcare workforce shortage. Mercer projects a shortfall of nearly 17,000 healthcare professionals by 2028 — from physicians and nurses to respiratory therapists, lab technicians and other essential caregivers. Strengthening this workforce pipeline is vital to improving outcomes.
It’s also a priority that was reinforced at the Summit, where participants emphasized that true equity requires developing and retaining leadership who reflects the communities we serve.
Meharry, other institutions work to close healthcare gaps
Fortunately, Tennessee has extraordinary assets already at work. Meharry Medical College — one of only four historically Black medical schools in the country — has been producing compassionate, community-centered clinicians for 150 years. It trains 15% of the nation’s Black physicians and dentists, and three-quarters of its graduates go on to practice in underserved communities. Their deep commitment to service, innovation and community health strengthens care for families across Tennessee.
Meharry’s ongoing partnership with Oracle Health to build a health technology collaborative, innovation hub and community health center in Nashville represents the kind of forward-looking investment that can expand access and modernize care — particularly for communities that have historically been left behind.
These efforts, combined with the expertise of institutions like Vanderbilt University, the University of Tennessee, the University of the South, Fisk University and others, forms a powerful ecosystem positioned to improve health for all Tennesseans.
Across the state, community-based healthcare remains a critical path forward. With support from Kaiser Permanente’s fund at the East Bay Community Foundation, the BDHEA conducted a comprehensive needs assessment of community health centers, federally qualified health centers (Tennessee has 134) and safety-net providers. These institutions care for thousands of families every day, often with limited resources and extraordinary commitment.
BDHEA’s equity playbook positions leaders for success
The discussions in Nashville made one thing clear: We are shifting from diagnosing the problem to coordinating solutions. The BDHEA National Summit sharpened our collective resolve to build the tools and governance frameworks needed to turn equity commitments into measurable impact.
Next year, BDHEA will release its fourth health equity playbook — an actionable toolkit designed to help leaders across Tennessee develop community-centered strategies that strengthen care delivery. The goal is simple: to put practical, evidence-based tools into the hands of those positioned to make change — board members, executives, clinicians and community partners striving to care for their patients.
The summit has already prompted concrete board-level discussions among BDHEA member organizations to tackle the hard choices awaiting 2026, including the ways AI is changing medicine. Having the involvement of institutions like Meharry are critical to ensuring these emerging technologies don’t leave swaths of people behind. Participants came away with renewed energy for the development of joint programs that will bring a broad base of stakeholders to the table, and we are always ready to have conversations with anyone who wants to join in the quest for health equity.
Every Tennessean deserves the chance to live a healthy life, supported by accessible, high-quality, community-centered care. Together, we can build a Tennessee where health outcomes improve for all of us — one patient, one family and one community at a time.
Deborah D. Phillips is the executive director of BDHEA. The Black Directors Health Equity Agenda unites board directors and senior leaders across the health ecosystem to foster and facilitate education for up-and-coming leaders, encourage revised business models, spur innovation and support policy reforms that advance health equity for Black Americans.