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Opioids and COVID: Caught between two epidemics
Mark Sriedfertg was helping a friend move last week, when he noticed she had disappeared. He found her in the bathroom, blue-lipped and unconscious on the floor. “I didn’t have Narcan,” said Sriedfertg, who, at 58, has been in recovery from opioid addiction for nine months. “I applied ice to her groin and the top […]
Staff, youth test positive for COVID-19 in Fayette County DCS center
One youth and two security staff at a Department of Children’s Services facility in Fayette County have tested positive for COVID-19 and mass testing is being conducted Thursday, the department said in a news release. The three individuals were tested over the weekend after showing symptoms. All three were in the same unit […]
Black Caucus advises Tennesseans to withhold home addresses from public health officials
The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators is advising Tennesseans to withhold their home addresses from public health officials conducting COVID-19 testing. The caucus has urged Gov. Bill Lee to rescind agreements to provide the state’s sheriffs and police chiefs with the names and addresses of every state resident who has tested positive for the […]
Sumner youth center posts all negative COVID results
All children and staff at a Sumner County youth treatment center have tested negative for COVID-19, after mass testing prompted by a staff member who tested positive for the virus, the Department of Children’s Services reported Tuesday. The privately-operated Bledsoe Youth Academy employs 41 staff members who oversee 30 children in state custody at the […]
BCBS posts drop in numbers of insured
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee saw a drop of of 15,743 in commercially-insured members in April, according to data provided by the state’s largest insurer. The loss of coverage for individuals formerly covered through employer-sponsored insurers represents a fraction of the insurer’s 1.5 million customers. But the data is too early to capture the full extent […]
Youth sent out of state by DCS return with COVID
The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services sent five teenage boys out of state to a Kalamazoo, Mich. facility for troubled youth. Three of the boys came back to Tennessee positive for COVID-19. The boys, ranging in age from 13 to 18, are among 52 children currently in DCS custody who have tested positive for the […]
Child care closures make back to work plans tough for parents
Kingsport, Tenn. business owner Bob Feathers operates two entirely separate ventures — a 20-year-old commercial interiors firm with 38 salaried employees and a franchise restaurant with 70 mostly part-time workers who rely on tips to get by. Feathers’ biggest operational question right now cuts across both business models: How do you get employees back at […]
Release of health data to law enforcement raises privacy concerns
The release of private health information of Tennesseans who have tested positive for COVID-19 to law enforcement by Gov. Bill Lee’s administration is facing pushback from lawmakers, advocates for minority communities and at least one police force that originally agreed to get the information. The Tennessee Black Caucus on Saturday called on Lee to end […]
Health department gives names, addresses of Tennesseans with COVID-19 to law enforcement
The Department of Health is providing the names and addresses of Tennessee residents who test positive for COVID-19 to sheriffs and chiefs of police across the state on a daily basis — a practice raising deep concerns about privacy and government intrusion into the lives of ordinary citizens. The offer to share the otherwise protected […]
Abortion wars in Tennessee expand to new fronts during pandemic
A week after Gov. Bill Lee urged Tennessee schools to shut down, as an initial wave of coronavirus cases grew to 600, Tennessee Right to Life filed a little-noticed lawsuit against Planned Parenthood and the city of Knoxville.