ABOUT US

The Comprehensive Care Center (CCC)  is a private, not-for-profit outpatient medical facility dedicated to  advancing and coordinating care, research and treatment of people living with HIV infection. the CCC opened in February 1994 as the result of a community-wide effort to address the challenges of the growing HIV epidemic in Middle Tennessee. The initial efforts began in 1992 when Phil Bredesen, then Mayor of Nashville, convened a Task Force on The Financial Impact of HIV on Healthcare Institutions in Middle Tennessee. Representatives from the major Hospitals and Medical Schools met with civic and business leaders. The result of those meetings was the commitment to develop a state-of-the-art outpatient facility to care for people with HIV infection. Several organizations devoted time, energy and funding to make the opening of the CCC a reality. A partial list of donors would include: Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Baptist Hospital, Centennial Medical Center, St. Thomas Hospital, The Woodfin Miller Foundation, The Frist Foundation and Ingram Industries. One month before the CCC opened, the State of Tennessee began a five-year experiment with managed Medicaid care called TENNCare. The implementation of this program was to have an enormous impact on Tennesseans living with HIV and on the CCC itself.

Once the CCC opened its doors,  the Metropolitan Health Department shifted care of its HIV patients to the CCC and remained a busy testing and screening center. Likewise, the Infectious Diseases Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center discontinued providing primary care for HIV infected patients and dedicated its efforts to providing access to cutting-edge clinical trials. By the end of its first year of operation, the CCC had enrolled 869 patients. Much of the initial uncertainty about the survival of the CCC was linked to the questionable survival of the TENNCare system. Extremely poor reimbursement rates, late payments and endless bureaucratic requirements made the idea of a financially independent Center seem unlikely. During this time, the CCC relied on support from its corporate and medical center donors.

In 1996 it became apparent that the level of care required by a complex and constantly changing disease like HIV infection could only be provided to Tennesseans through a network of Centers of Excellence. Statewide meetings began which brought together HIV care providers, HIV infected consumers, managed care organizations and representatives from the State. Through the hard work of several different managed care organization medical directors, HIV care providers and consumers and Drs. Wendy Long, Bill Moore and program coordinator Drema Mace the statewide Centers of Excellence Network came into being. In 1999, eight Centers of Excellence were designated by the State. The designated Centers of Excellence share treatment protocols, formulary considerations and collaborate on issues related to HIV care. The CCC was instrumental in the organization and the implementation of the CCCs of Excellence network.

In 1997 the CCC received funding from the State of Tennessee - Department of Health  through the Title II funds of the Ryan White Care Act to begin establishing a Center of Clinical Excellence in Cookeville, Tennessee. This Center opened at the Putnam Regional Health Center in February 1997. It currently serves over 100 patients. In 1998 the second satellite clinic was opened in Springfield, Tennessee. It currently serves 80 patients. The last satellite clinic to join the network is the HIV clinic at the regional health center in Columbia Tennessee. the CCC took over the direction of this clinic in 2000 after its founder, Dr. Peggy Alsup, retired. There are approximately 90 patients in care at this clinic.

More recently the CCC has become the recipient of Ryan White Title III and Title IV funding to set up an adherence center and to develop its services for HIV infected women. As part of this effort the Obstetrics Comprehensive Care Center, a collaborative effort between the CCC and high-risk obstetrics at Vanderbilt, has moved on-site. In addition, The Vanderbilt Clinical Trials Center is now located in adjacent space in the same building as the CCC, thereby providing convenient access to new and experimental therapies for HIV infection.

The CCC has developed cooperative relationships with other providers to deliver on-site services to accomplish our goal of "comprehensive care." These collaborations include:

·     Nashville CARES

·     Mental Health Cooperative

·     LabCorp

·     The AIDS Clinical Trial Center

·     The Tennessee Department of Health's AIDS Support Services Division

·     The Centers of Excellence

To view an introductory video presentation about the Comprehensive Care Center, just click here.