Healthcare
COVID cases rise 50% among school age children across Tennessee since early August
At a COVID-19 briefing Thursday morning, Nashville Public Health Director Dr. Michael Caldwell cautioned that the city is seeing an unwelcome upsurge in coronavirus infections. Among the driving factors? Children, from infants to 17 years old, whose case rates have spiked 93% since the beginning of September, Caldwell said. Case rates mark the prevalence of […]
Judge strikes Tennessees’s 48-hour abortion waiting period, but the wait may not be over
A federal judge on Wednesday handed abortion rights supporters a major victory when he struck down a 48-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions that has been a routine part of terminating a pregnancy in Tennessee for the past five years. It remains unclear whether the ruling will give women more immediate and full access […]
Nashville women’s shelter under quarantine amid COVID outbreak
About 150 residents of the Nashville Rescue Mission’s women’s campus are now under quarantine after an outbreak of COVID-19, according to the Metro health department. “The Metro Public Health Department has been working with Nashville Rescue Mission officials on a cluster (fewer than 20) of cases,” an email from spokesman Brian Todd said. “We have […]
Tennessee women in rural areas more likely to be domestic violence victims
Near the downtown area of Paris, Tennessee, a long set of concrete stairs, partially overgrown with crabgrass and weeds, leads up a hill to the maroon front door on Depot Street, a small pastel orange house surrounded by tall, skinny trees. On the night of May 22, 2018, Jessica Jones got off work from her […]
Two legal defeats in one week for Tennessee attorneys seeking to uphold restrictive abortion laws
A federal judge has shot down efforts by state attorneys to kickstart one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws while a legal challenge that will likely take months or years is underway. Tennessee’s so-called “heartbeat” abortion law, enacted by state lawmakers and signed by Gov. Bill Lee in May, bans abortions once a fetal […]
Federal judge temporary halts Tennessee’s so-called “abortion reversal” law, set to go into effect Oct. 1
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a Tennessee law requiring abortion providers to tell women a medication abortion can be reversed — a claim that providers have called “scientifically unsupported and misleading information.” The law, enacted earlier this year by Tennessee lawmakers, was set to go into effect October 1. It makes it a […]
Column: When tracking Tennessee COVID-19 data, mind the backfill
To say that I’m knowledgeable on Tennessee’s COVID-19 data as a private citizen would be accurate. After nearly four months of tracking new hospitalization data near-daily, I’ve come to learn of patterns in the data and how the state reports it. But most importantly, I’ve come to learn about the flaws of the current hospitalization […]
Musicians coalition pushes to end smoking in bars
A coalition of musicians is pushing to end smoking in Nashville’s bars and music venues, the latest in a long line of efforts that have typically failed. Tennessee passed a smoking ban in 2007, but included a carve-out for establishments with under-21 age restrictions. Musicians for Smokefree Nashville are seeking to ban smoking in bars […]
Nashville’s COVID hotspots include facilities for kids in DCS custody
Among the Nashville COVID-19 hotspots disclosed by the city’s health department on Monday are three facilities in or near downtown where the majority of positive cases have been found not among honky tonk patrons or nursing home residents but in children in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services. At Hermitage Hall, an Eighth […]
Nearly 1,000 positive cases, 14 deaths associated with Tennessee programs for people with disabilities
The toll COVID-19 has taken on people with intellectual or developmental disabilities in Tennessee continues to climb: there are now 14 people dead and 333 more who have tested positive for the virus among the people served by state programs. The men and women are among about 12,000 served by public programs overseen by the […]
Workers compensation for COVID-19 an uphill battle for Tennessee workers
More than 40% of initial COVID-19-related workers’ compensations filings in Tennessee have been denied, according to data provided by state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Among workers most likely to get an initial “no” for seeking medical expenses and lost wages as a result of claiming they contracted the disease on the job? Agricultural, […]
Metro Health’s role in vaccine trials prompts internal conflict
Among the Nashville institutions assuming a role in upcoming clinical trials for a potential COVID-19 vaccine is the Metro Public Health Department, a decision receiving pushback from some members of its oversight board. The decision for the already overstretched department to partner with a private for-profit company in a vaccine trial has not received the […]