The Vanderbilt Consortium LEND (VCL) prepares graduate-level health and education professionals in 17 specialties to assume leadership roles to serve children with neurodevelopmental and related disabilities.
Leadership Education
The purpose of the Vanderbilt Consortium LEND is to improve the health of infants, children, and adolescents with neurodevelopmental and related disabilities (NDRD) and to increase access to family-centered, community-based, interprofessional services.
The program focuses on preparing trainees to assume leadership roles and develop interprofessional, advanced clinical skills, and research skills to meet the complex needs of children with NDRD.
The Vanderbilt Consortium LEND includes faculty and trainees from Belmont University, East Tennessee State University (ETSU), Meharry Medical College, Tennessee State University (TSU), Vanderbilt University (VU), and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), as well as affiliates from Family Voices of Tennessee.
The Vanderbilt Consortium LEND works closely with a variety of university, family and state agency partners to provide workshops, conferences and distance education at the community, state, regional and national levels. We also provide technical assistance to health delivery systems and organizations that support services to individuals with ASD/NDRD.
LEND programs are federally funded through HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The 60 LEND programs are located in every state, the District of Columbia, the United States Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and six Pacific Basin jurisdictions, either as an awardee or in partnership with a LEND program. Collectively, they form a national network that shares information and resources to maximize their impact. We work together to address national issues of importance to children with special health care needs and their families, exchange best practices and develop shared products.
The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) provides technical assistance and consultation to address the needs of the LEND and other MCHB long-term interprofessional training programs in developing leadership systems of quality education for health providers within the Title V Maternal and Child Health network.
Program Focuses
The LEND Program provides interprofessional leadership training for advanced graduate students and post-graduate professionals representing the fields of:
- Audiology (VU)
- Counseling (ETSU)
- Deaf Education (VUMC)
- Dentistry (Meharry Medical College)
- Family (Family Voices, TN Disability Coalition)
- Genetic Counseling (VUMC)
- Medicine (ETSU, VUMC)
- Nursing (VUMC)
- Nutrition (ETSU)
- Occupational Therapy (Belmont University, ETSU)
- Physical Therapy (Belmont University, ETSU, TSU)
- Psychology (ETSU, VUMC)
- Public Health (ETSU)
- Self-Advocate (East TN, Middle TN, VUMC)
- Social Work (ETSU)
- Special Education (ETSU, VU)
- Speech-Language Pathology (ETSU, VUMC)
Individuals from these professions represent the core faculty and provide mentorship in the implementation of the training program. A parent/family advisor and a self-advocate serve on the faculty as well.