Tag: Metro Public Health Department

Nashville City Council Continues to Debate Ending Emissions Testing While Five Counties Are Set to End the Program Next Month

Kaitlin Housler

During a Monday joint meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee and the Health and Safety Committee of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, officials from the Metro Public Health Department recommended council members end the current vehicle emissions testing program and replace it with a $4 fee for each vehicle registration. The $4 fee proposal would go toward air pollution mitigation efforts.

The Tennessee Star reported the resolution filed by Metro Council Member Kevin Rhoten (District 14), RS2021-1251, was filed November 9th. According to the legislation details, “this resolution would repeal Resolution No. RS2018-1171, which authorized the continuation of the Metropolitan Government’s vehicle inspection and maintenance program, also called the emissions testing program.”

The resolution to end emissions testing in Nashville will be further discussed, and most likely voted on, at the council’s next meeting in the new year on January 4th, 2022.

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WTN’s Brian Wilson: A Source Who Works at MPHD Says Dr. Stephanie Kang ‘Is Focusing on Creating a Hostile and Racist Work Environment’

Julie Carr

Thursday morning, Brian Wilson, host of The Drive on 99.7 WWTN weekdays 3 pm to 7 pm, discussed the ongoing drama at the Metro Nashville Health Department as complaints and resignations abound as Communications Director Brian Todd is put on administrative leave due to an alleged complaint made by the Director of Equity and Inclusion, Dr. Stephanie Kang.

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First Day of Child Vaccination Reaches Capacity at Both Metro Nashville Locations

Morgan Nicole Veysey

Metro Nashville’s first day of administering COVID vaccinations to children ages 5 to 11 ended after it reached capacity Monday. Two locations offered the shots, Maplewood High School and Cane Ridge High School from 3 pm to 6:30 pm.

The Metro Public Health Department tweeted, “We are encouraged by the response at our drive-thru vaccination event at Maplewood High School. Our team is working as fast as they can to get to everyone as soon as possible. Everyone currently in line will be served, but no more vehicles will be joining the line tonight.”

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Metro Nashville Continues to Administer Pfizer Vaccines Ahead of CDC Emergency Meeting on Heart Inflammation Reactions

Corinne Murdock

Metro Nashville health officials will continue to administer Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, which will be discussed in an upcoming emergency meeting called by the CDC. According to preliminary reports, there have been double the expected cases of heart inflammation occurring in both Pfizer and Moderna vaccine recipients. 

The CDC meeting is scheduled for this Friday. Officials will discuss whether there exists a definitive link between the two vaccine types and the reported cases of myocarditis and pericarditis. The Tennessee Star inquired with the Metro Public Health Department (MPHD) if they would continue administering the Pfizer vaccine up until the CDC holds its emergency meeting. MPHD spokespersons confirmed to The Star that they would.

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CDC Awarded Davidson and Shelby Counties Nearly $12 Million to Address COVID Health Disparities for Minorities

Corinne Murdock
CDC

The CDC awarded nearly $12 million collectively to Davidson and Shelby counties to address COVID-related health disparities in racial and ethnic minorities. Overall, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) was awarded nearly $39 million in total this past week, with a rural carveout totaling over $8.3 million. The CDC says this funding to a total of 107 recipients is part of a larger goal to “advance health equity.”

The Metro Public Health Department of Nashville and Davidson County received over $4.9 million in these funds, while Shelby County Health Department received nearly $6.6 million. The Tennessee Star inquired with the CDC how the funds can be used specifically to address COVID-related health disparities among racial or ethnic minorities, and what metrics they would use to measure progress within the awarded states and localities. The CDC didn’t respond by press time.

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Nashville’s COVID Vaccine Registration Site Crashes as Vaccine Becomes More Widely Available

Peter D'Abrosca

Nashville’s COVID-19 vaccine registration website crashed early Friday, as the vaccine became more widely available in the state. 

“The Metro Public Health Department said that a system malfunction is preventing people from registering for a COVID-19 vaccine on Friday morning,” according to The Tennessean. The glitch comes on the first day of sign-ups for residents 65+ in Davidson County and was likely due to a high volume of traffic starting at 7 a.m., city spokesperson Brian Todd said.”

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Sean Feucht Proves Critics Wrong, Points Out Not a Single Attendee of Nashville Worship Rally Contracted COVID-19

Jason M. Reynolds

Christian evangelist and worship leader Sean Feucht said that Metro Nashville Mayor John Cooper could not trace a single coronavirus case to his Let Us Worship prayer rally on October 11.

Feucht on Thursday posted on his public Facebook page, “Nashville Mayors Office today confirms ZERO new cases tracked to our #LetUsWorship. (and they looked real hard too). Someone tell the squad at @rollingstone @cnn @abcnews @nbcnews @cbsnews PLS.”

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After Nearly Ten Thousand People Gather for Nashville Worship Event, Metro Public Health Investigating to File Charges

Corinne Murdock

An estimated nine to ten thousand people attended a “Let Us Worship” protest in downtown Nashville on late Sunday afternoon. The event was hosted by Sean Feucht, a Christian artist known for his leadership in the California-based megachurch, Bethel Church.

Attendees flocked to the Public Square in downtown Nashville, in front of Metro Courthouse. The day of the event, Feucht announced in a Twitter video the last-minute arrangements for time and location.

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Metro Board of Health Resumes Controversial COVID Patient Database for First Responders

Corinne Murdock

Metro Public Health Department will officially resume an updated version of the controversial COVID-19 patient database for the benefit of first responders. This follows Metro Department of Communications (DEC) weeks-long interim testing for the database.
The Metro Board of Health discontinued the first version of the system in June due to privacy concerns. About two months later, the board decided to resume the database. The members discussed an interim database that would take six weeks to develop. This following database will serve as the more permanent solution.

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Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s Restaurant Police Cite Two Downtown Bars For Having Too Many Customers

Jason M. Reynolds

Informants reportedly helped Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s restaurant police cite two downtown bars over the weekend.

WSMV reported that a task force cited Dogwood and Rebar, both on Division Street, on Saturday for having too many patrons, including on the patio. The task force had members from Metro Public Health Department, the Metro Nashville Police Department and the Metro Beer Board. The task force checked on Dogwood again on Sunday.

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Metro Nashville School Nurses Receive No Formal Training On Female Genital Mutilation

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

Metro Nashville school nurses have not received formal training on how to spot potential cases of female genital mutilation despite state lawmakers drawing attention to FGM with legislation in 2012. The 2012 law requires health care providers to report injuries related to FGM, a brutal practice in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia that has been brought into the West through immigration. In the U.S., Tennessee is ranked 18th in state rankings for potential risk for women and girls, according to the Population Reference Bureau. The Tennessee Star has found that state and local agencies have not established clear guidelines and procedures for building awareness and documenting FGM cases to comply with the spirit and intent of the 2012 reporting law, which was passed to support state legislation in 1996 making FGM performed on a minor a felony. School nurses in Metro Nashville Public Schools are required to take an annual training course on reporting child abuse but it makes no mention of FGM. The Metro Nashville school district has refugee and immigrant students from Somalia and other parts of the world where FGM is practiced. “The annual course does not cover FGM specifically,” said Brian Todd, a spokesman for…

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