Sumner youth center posts all negative COVID results

By: Anita Wadhwani - May 19, 2020 1:23 pm

Youth Opportunity operates Bledsoe Youth Academy.

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 Gallatin residential facility.

It is one of several residential facilities for DCS youth that have reported positive results for the virus among staff or children. In Tennessee, the first reported outbreak occurred at the Memphis Center for Success and Independence, where 45 of 48 youth getting mental health or substance treatment tested positive, along with 11 staff members.

In total five facilities for kids in state custody have had youth or staff members test positive. The others are Compass Intervention Center in Shelby County, Mountain View Academy in Jefferson County and Bill’s Place in Shelby County.

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Anita Wadhwani

Anita Wadhwani is a senior reporter for the Tennessee Lookout. The Tennessee AP Broadcasters and Media (TAPME) named her Journalist of the Year in 2019 as well as giving her the Malcolm Law Award for Investigative Journalism. Wadhwani is formerly an investigative reporter with The Tennessean who focused on the impact of public policies on the people and places across Tennessee.