Dr. Cherry Guinn, Professor of Nursing, has been awarded $30,000 from the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  The award will fund the
second year of a three year grant that will support Dr. Guinn’s
long-standing efforts to enhance continuing education opportunities for
nurses serving rural communities in our region.

Dr. Guinn’s effort is particularly important because of the severe shortage
of healthcare providers in our region, a shortage which is especially acute
in rural areas.  The scarcity of health care professionals means that highly
skilled nurses are key to a community’s well being.

Dr. Guinn's Continuing Education for Rural Public Health Nurses program
provides rural nurses in northwest Georgia, northeast Alabama, southeast
Tennessee, and western Kentucky with the skills to provide the best
healthcare to their diverse constituencies.  The program provides workshops
to address specific needs; it offers expanded knowledge in the areas of
women’s and children’s health; it suggests new strategies for violence and
disease prevention; and it offers a network through which rural nurses can
communicate with each other to solve problems.

Congratulations to Dr. Guinn! This service is of great benefit to our
community and the surrounding region, and it offers important instruction to
the nurses who take part in the program.