Vine School Health Center

Vision: Healthy Students are Students Ready to Learn

Mission: To provide comprehensive care to improve the overall physical, mental, and educational health for children living in Knox County.

VSHC is a school-based physical and mental health center located in the Langland Building of the Vine Middle Magnet School in Knoxville, TN. VSHC is a collaborative effort between Knox County Schools and the College of Nursing.

VSHC has been providing comprehensive care to the children of Knox County, TN since 1995 and is an exemplar of community partnership. When the VSHC opened its primary focus was providing physical health care within a school facility. In 2011, recognizing that many students had unmet social, academic, and mental health care needs, the VSHC initiated an interprofessional practice to meet these needs. The expansion of services enabled the center’s social workers to provide mental health evaluations, counseling and play therapy services to children their families as well as assist families with issues related to food/housing/ clothing and applying for health insurance. Currently, VSHC provides care at their physical location on Langland Street to children from birth to 21 years of age who will be, or are, students in Knox County. VSHC has also expanded its health care delivery method to include telehealth services to eleven Knox County Schools. In addition to the availability of telehealth services weekdays, a nurse practitioner is on-site at each of the schools at least half a day, once per week to provide health care services.

Our center bills insurance for our health care and mental health services. We bill all TennCare insurance plans and several private insurances.

​We are now accepting payments at the office by credit or debit cards, money orders, and check. We accept Visa, Master card, American Express and Discover cards.

​If you are uninsured, patients who qualify for discounted services will be billed according to the sliding scale fee. You are welcome to contact our office for additional information on the cost of various services and if you qualify.

​If you have received a bill and have questions or concerns please contact University Physicians’ Association, Inc. (UPA) at 865-670-6700.

VSHC accepts donations to support services. All gifts made are 100% tax-deductible. Donate here.

This notice describes how medical information about you may be disclosed and how you can get access to this information. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
As required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), this Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we may use and disclose your Protected Health Information (PHI) for treatment, payment, health care operations, and other purposes permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights regarding access to and amendment of your PHI.
PHI is information that identifies you and relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health or health care services.
USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PHI

Your PHI may be used and disclosed by your provider, our office staff, and others outside of our office that we have involved in your care and treatment for the purpose of providing health care services to you. Your PHI may also be used and disclosed to pay your health care bills and to support the operation of the provider’s practice. The following are examples of the types of uses and disclosures of your PHI that we are permitted to make. These examples are not meant to be exhaustive. but to describe the types of uses and disclosures.

Treatment: We will use and disclose your PHI to provide, coordinate and manage your healthcare and any related services. This may include the coordination or management of your health care with a third party. For example, we would disclose your PHI, as necessary, to a home health agency that provides care to you. We will also disclose PHI to other healthcare providers who may be treating you. For example, your PHI may be provided to an physician to whom you have been referred to to ensure that the provider has the necessary information to diagnose or treat you.

Payment: We can use and share your PHI to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities. For example, we give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for the services you receive at our Clinic.

Healthcare Operations: We may use or disclose your PHI in order to support our business activities. These activities include, but are not limited to, quality assessment activities, employee review activities, and training of medical/nursing students, licensing and conducting or arranging for other business activities. We will share your PHI with third party business associates that perform various activities (e.g., billing transcription services) for the Clinic. We may also send you information about products or services that we believe might benefit you.

Appointment Reminders: We may use your PHI to contact you and remind you of an appointment.

Outlined below are additional situations in which our Clinic may disclose your PHI without your authorization.

Business Associate: We may share your PHI with outside companies that perform services for us such as accreditation, legal, computer, or auditing services. These outside companies are called “Business Associates” and are required by HIPAA and by contract to keep your PHI confidential.

Individuals Involved in Your Care: We may share your PHI with a family member, guardian or other individuals who are involved in your care, or who help pay for your care. If you have any objection to sharing your PHI in this way, please contact us.

To You or Your Personal Representative: We may disclose your PHI to you, or a representative appointed by you or designated by applicable law.

Disaster Relief: Your PHI may be disclosed to an entity assisting in a disaster relief effort so your family can be notified about your condition, status, and location.

Research: Under certain circumstances, your PHI may be used and disclosed for research purposes. All research projects involving patients’ PHI must be approved through a special review process to protect patient confidentiality. You will only become a part of one of these research projects if you agree to do so and sign a consent form.

Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: Your PHI may be disclosed in response to a court or administration order, subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process.

Law Enforcement: Your PHI may be disclosed for law enforcement purposes as authorized or required by law. For example, our Clinic may disclose your PHI if necessary to report a crime.

To Prevent a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use or share your PHI when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety and that of the public or another person.

Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose your PHI to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities include, for example, audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.

Organ and Tissue Donation: If you are an organ or tissue donor, your PHI may be released to organizations that handle organ procurement or organ, eye and tissue transplantation or to an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate organ or tissue donation and transplantation.

Military and Veterans: If you are a member of the armed forces, your PHI may be released as required by military command authorities. If you are a member of the foreign military personnel, your PHI may be released to the appropriate foreign military authority.

National Security and Intelligence Activities: Our Clinic may disclose your PHI to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law.

Public Health Purposes: Our Clinic may disclose your PHI for public health activities, such as activities including to prevent or control disease, injury or disability; to report reactions to medications or problems with products; to notify people of recalls of products they may be using; or to notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition.

Abuse and Neglect: Subject to certain limitations, our Clinic may disclose your PHI to an appropriate government authority that is authorized by law to receive reports of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence, if our Clinic reasonably believes you are a victim of abuse or neglect.

Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors: Your PHI may be released to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. We may also release PHI about patients to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties.

As Required Or Allowed by Law: Your PHI will be disclosed when we are required or allowed to do so by federal, state, or local authorities, laws, rules and/or regulations.

Part 2 Program Records. If we receive or maintain any information about you from a substance use disorder treatment program that is covered by 42 CFR Part 2 (a “Part 2 Program”) through a general consent you provide to the Part 2 Program to use and disclose the Part 2 Program record for purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations, we may use and disclose your Part 2 Program record for treatment, payment and health care operations purposes as described in this Notice. If we receive or maintain your Part 2 Program record through specific consent you provide to us or another third party, we will use and disclose your Part 2 Program record only as expressly permitted by you in your consent as provided to us. In no event will we use or disclose your Part 2 Program record or information contained in your Part 2 Program record in any civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings by any Federal, State, or local authority against you, unless authorized by your consent or the order of a court after it provides you notice of the court order.

Uses and Disclosures that Require Your Authorization: Our Clinic will not use or disclose your PHI for any purpose other than those described in this Notice, unless you give us your written authorization to do so. Your PHI may not be used or disclosed for marketing purposes or sold by our Clinic without your prior written authorization.

YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR PHI

You have the following rights regarding your PHI. All requests must be submitted in writing to our Privacy Officer.

Right to Request Access to Your PHI: With certain exceptions, you have the right to see and get a copy of your PHI that may be used to make decisions about your care. To see or get a copy of your PHI, you must submit a written request. If you request a paper copy of your information, we may charge a fee for the cost of copying, mailing or other supplies associated with your request. Our Clinic may deny your request to inspect or copy your PHI in certain limited situations. If you are denied access to your PHI, you will be notified in writing.

Right to Request an Amendment of Your PHI: If you feel that the PHI we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. To request an amendment, you must submit a written request. Please be specific about the information that you believe is incorrect or incomplete. In some situations, our Clinic may deny your request to amend your PHI. If we deny your request, you will be notified in writing.

Right to an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request an accounting of certain types of disclosures of your PHI for a specified time period. The accounting will not include all disclosures of your PHI. For example, you do not have the right to request an accounting of disclosures of your PHI made (1) for purposes of treatment, payment and health care operations (2) to you and pursuant to your authorization; or (3) for other purposes for which federal law does not require us to provide an accounting. Your request for an accounting should identify the time period for which you seek the accounting. The first accounting you request in any 12-month period will be free. For additional accountings that you request within a 12-month period, we may charge you for the costs of providing the accounting. We will notify you of the cost in advance so that you can choose whether to withdraw or modify your request.

Right to Request Restrictions on How Your PHI is Used or Disclosed: You have a right to request that we change the way we use or disclose your PHI for certain purposes. To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing. In your request, you must tell us:

1. What information you want to limit;
2. Whether you want to limit our use, disclosure or both;
3. To whom you want the limits to apply, for example, disclosures to your spouse.
   We are not required to agree to your request, except that we will not share your PHI with your health insurance company if you pay for the entire amount due for the services you receive (unless we are required by law to share the information with your health insurance company).

Right to Request Confidential Communication:. You have the right to request that we communicate with you in a certain way or at a certain location that you think will be more confidential. For example: You can ask that we only contact you by mail. To request confidential communications, you must make your request in writing. We will not ask you the reason for your request. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted.

Right to Be Notified of Breach: We will notify you if we discover a breach of your unsecured PHI.

Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice: You have the right to a copy of this Notice. You may ask us to give you a copy at any time. Even if you have agreed to receive this Notice electronically, you are still entitled to a paper copy of this Notice.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS NOTICE

Changes To This Notice: We reserve the right to change this notice and make the revised or changed notice effective for PHI we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future.

Complaints: You will not be penalized or retaliated against for filing a complaint. If you believe your rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with Our Clinic or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Our Privacy Officer may be contacted at the address and telephone number provided below:

Attention Chief Privacy Officer
Vine School Health Center
220 Langland Street
Knoxville, TN 37914
865-594-5078
Vineshcutk.edu

Effective: 1/1/2026

For more information regarding the recommended immunization schedule for ages 18 years and younger please click here.

Permission to Treat

Health and History

Mental Health Screener

Address: 220 Langland Street, Knoxville, TN 37915

Hours: Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

Phone: 865-594-5078

Fax: 865-594-3921

Email: [email protected]