The Vine Hill Community Clinic, operated by the School of Nursing, is in the midst of a growth phase aimed at boosting the number of patients the clinic is able to serve.
photo by Donna Jones Bailey
Vine Hill Clinic growing to meet patients’ needs
The Vine Hill Community Clinic, operated by the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, is doubling its size and extending hours of operation to help more patients and 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 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, adding 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 clinic has started seeing patients on the weekends, 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. Patients can pay for Vine Hill health services through insurance or a self-funded sliding scale.
The expansion project at Vine Hill is being made possible, in part, through a grant from The Memorial Foundation, while the clinic works to generate matching funds.