The Vine Hill Community Clinic, operated by the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, is doubling its size and extending hours of operation to enhance patient care.
“Our demand is more than we can meet,” said Terri Crutcher, M.S.N., R.N., Clinical Director of the Primary Care Faculty Practice. “We are very committed to serving the underserved population in our community. With more space, we can serve more patients.”
The nurse-managed clinic currently cares for about 10,200 TennCare enrollees, and expects to see numbers rise as TennCare cuts are finalized and other patients look for options in Nashville and across Davidson County.
“We want patients to have a primary care home, so that they can decrease the number of emergency room visits they make,” said Crutcher.
Vine Hill currently treats about 65 scheduled patients a day with episodic illness, chronic illness, minor injuries and physicals including well-woman exams. With plans to add 3,500-square-feet of space, managers say they will be able to handle up to 90 patients a day.
Renovation plans include increasing square footage on the first and second floors, making way for more exam rooms, offices for providers and space for patient support services. Crutcher said Vine Hill will also hire an additional nurse.
In addition to the physical expansion, the Vine Hill Community Clinic has started seeing patients during the weekend: Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. The weekend care clinic is on a walk- in basis, no appointment necessary.
In addition to Vine Hill, the Faculty Practice at VUSN operates several other clinics around Davidson County and Middle Tennessee, totaling nearly 20 locations. They include Parthenon Towers Clinic, Hadley Park Towers Clinic, Madison Towers Clinic, the McKendree-Vanderbilt Health Center, the West End Women‘s Health Center, three school-based clinics for children, and several other locations.
The expansion project at Vine Hill will be made possible, in part, through a grant from The Memorial Foundation, while the clinic works to generate matching funds.
