Dr. Kristi Wick, center, accepts the Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging’s Trusted Partner in Aging Award alongside Sandy Elliott, Ms. Tennessee Senior America 2026, and Brad Turner, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging. Photo courtesy of Dr. Kristi Wick.
Dr. Kristi Wick, the Vicky B. Gregg Chair of Gerontology and a UC Foundation associate professor in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga College of Nursing, received the Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging’s Trusted Partner in Aging Award on Thursday, Sept. 10, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
The Trusted Partner in Aging Award recognizes a state, regional or local partner whose collaboration strengthens the aging network through resources, education and partnerships that expand access, enhance support and improve outcomes for older adults.
The recognition reflects the work of UTC’s MobileMOC program, which provides health and wellness services to older adults in rural communities across Southeast Tennessee. Through partnerships with senior centers, healthcare providers, community organizations and the Southeast Tennessee Area Agency on Aging and Disability (SETAAAD), MobileMOC connects older adults with services designed to support their health, independence and ability to remain in their communities.
“I think what’s most special to me about that is that the nomination was acknowledging the work the MobileMOC team has done as a whole,” Wick said. “To be nominated by the Southeast Tennessee Area Agency on Aging and Disability is special because they are ingrained in every part of what happens in our 10 counties for older adults.
“Having them as a partner has been critical every step along the way, but to have them reciprocate and say they acknowledge us as a partner for them is pretty special for us.”
MobileMOC was developed to help address barriers that can prevent older adults in rural areas from receiving care and support, including geographic isolation, transportation challenges, limited access to preventive services and healthcare workforce shortages. The mobile unit brings services directly into communities, where older adults can receive support and connect with available resources.
The program’s interprofessional team includes UTC faculty and students from nursing, occupational therapy, social work, nutrition and dietetics and business/finance. Services provided include health screenings, chronic disease education and management, medication support, cognitive health education, fall prevention and home-safety education, and social work intervention.
“Dr. Wick has opened doors that many of our rural communities and older adults simply did not have access to before,” SETAAAD Director Stacie Burgess said. “She has taken healthcare, education and meaningful support beyond the walls of a university and into the communities where people live, work and age.”
Burgess said Wick’s approach to building relationships and finding new ways to reach older adults has made her “not only an exceptional partner to the Southeast Tennessee Area Agency on Aging and Disability, but a true champion for the older adults we serve.”
“We are proud to see Dr. Wick and MobileMOC recognized as a Trusted Partner in Aging because she has truly earned that trust, one community and one older adult at a time,” Burgess said.
In addition to connecting people with care, MobileMOC works with local partners to help address needs related to transportation, nutrition, caregiving and social isolation.
From April 2025 through August 2026, MobileMOC traveled approximately 23,000 miles and recorded 4,327 clinic encounters in Southeast Tennessee communities. Students contributed 1,710 hours alongside faculty and community partners.
Dr. Chris Smith, dean of the UTC College of Nursing, said the award recognizes Wick’s advocacy for older adults and the people who care for them.
“I can think of no better recipient of the 2026 Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging’s Trusted Partner in Aging Award,” Smith said. “Dr. Wick’s work as an advocate committed to improving how people in our state age is something that affects us all. This does not only impact those over age 55 but also those people who care for them.”
Smith said addressing the needs of the aging population was an early goal for Wick when she joined the College of Nursing. Since then, Wick’s work has built partnerships with agencies across Tennessee involved in caring for older adults.
“Dr. Wick does not seek the spotlight and in fact avoids it,” Smith said. “She is the epitome of a servant leader, and we are better as a state, a community, the College of Nursing and as individuals because she has this deep-seated passion.”
Wick said MobileMOC’s success depends on the people and organizations working together to serve older adults.
“There’s plenty of work to go around for everybody, but collaborative partnerships are key,” she said. “There’s nothing that we do that we just say, ‘Oh, well, we’re going to go do this and it works well.’ We always have to have a community partner.”
The Trusted Partner in Aging Award is MobileMOC’s latest recognition. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee recently named the program one of the Champions of Health Care for 2026, an honor recognized by the Chattanooga Times Free Press and EDGE magazine.
For Wick, the awards affirm UTC’s commitment to older adults and caregivers, as well as the partnerships behind MobileMOC’s work.
“Our whole purpose for being is to advocate for older adults and caregivers,” she said. “An award like the Trusted Partner in Aging or the Champions of Healthcare gives a little bit of validation that we’re doing what we set out to do. When you’re nominated for these awards, especially at the state level, it just shows how UTC is paving the way for older adult care.”
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MobileMOC team members, from left, Julie Goonetilleke, marketing and advancement specialist; Emily Clark,, project manager; Dr. Amir Alakaam, MPH program director and associate professor; Dr. Meagan Oslund, interprofessional education and practice coordinator; Lili Reynolds, MobileMOC registered nurse; and Dionne Gray, community health worker, attend the Sept. 10, 2026, Champions of Health Care awards luncheon. UTC’s MobileMOC was recognized as a 2026 Champion of Health Care. Photo courtesy of Julie Goonetilleke.
