Gaylord wins Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award
Nan Gaylord, professor in the UT College of Nursing, was selected as a recipient of the Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award. The Harold Love Outstanding Community Service award is sponsored by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and is named after the late state representative Harold Love, who was instrumental in passing legislation to create community service recognition programs at the state level in 1991.Gaylord was one of five honorees selected by a statewide taskforce for this award.
Gaylord graduated with her BSN from the College of Nursing in 1977. Gaylord who has worked at UT Knoxville since 1987, has a proven record of leadership and community service within the College of Nursing and in the Knoxville Community. She saw a need- and had a vision- 23 years ago to provide school-based health care to underserved children in the Knox County area. Dr. Gaylord raised funds to create a clinic to provide health care services to who children and teens who have limited access to health care. The Vine School Health Center is a full service pediatric clinic located in the Langland Building in the back of Vine Middle Magnet School in Knoxville, Tennessee. The clinic is a joint cooperative between the University of Tennessee College of Nursing and the Knox County Schools Health Services Department.
Today, the Vine School Health Center is thriving. The clinic provides services to over 2000 children including over 7500 physical and/or mental health care visits annually. The clinic also provides health services to 11 underserved schools via telehealth technology. The success of the clinic is a direct reflection of Nan’s dedication to caring for children and her visionary leadership to secure funding, personnel and collaborative partners. Vine School Health Center is a source of pride for both the College of Nursing and the University of Tennessee.
In addition to directing the Vine School Health Center, Dr. Gaylord coordinated the Advanced Practice Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and serves as the inaugural Associate Dean for Practice & Global Affairs in the College of Nursing. Gaylord was nominated by Dr. Victoria Niederhauser, Dean of the College of Nursing, for the Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award.
For more information on the Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award, visit the Tennessee Higher Education commission website.