A Healthy Nashville IV: Mental Health

« back to all media

Media - April 2, 2020

A Healthy Nashville IV: Mental Health

Message from Sen. Bill Frist, M.D.:
COVID and Mental Health

In this Issue:
– COVID-19 Impact on Nashville’s Mental Health
– Response Fund Update
– Tracking COVID in Tennessee
– NashvilleHealth E-briefs

COVID-19 Impact on Nashville’s Mental Health

According to the Nashville Community Health + Well-being Survey, Nashvillians experience 5.3 poor mental health days each month. This outpaces the state and national average, and is a full day more than similar-sized peer cities. Adding the uncertainty of a pandemic like COVID-19 and its associated fear, job loss and isolation will likely increase our community’s mental health needs.

It’s critical that our employees, colleagues, clients and friends know the resources available and how to access them. Below are some of the programs available in our city:

Suicide Prevention Lifeline – dial (800) 273-8255 or visit the website and participate in a chat feature.
Tennessee’s 24-7 Crisis Line – (855) CRISIS-1 or (855) 274-7471.
Crisis Text Line – text “TN” to 741741 to be immediately connected to a trained crisis counselor 24/7. Click this link to learn about the Crisis Text Line
Tennessee Redline – call or text (800) 889-9789 for a referral to a substance use disorder treatment or other resources.
My Health Care Home – this website directs Middle Tennesseans to their nearest charitable clinic. It includes prescription discounts, screenings, and more information at www.myhchTN.org.

Nashville Response Fund Update

To date, Nashville’s COVID-19 Response Fund has raised just over $3.2 million, thanks to generous gifts from local foundations, corporations and community members. The response fund was formed to quickly and effectively address both the health and economic challenges of this virus. More funding is crucial to meet the growing needs of our community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tracking COVID in Tennessee

Each day, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. In an effort to raise awareness about these figures and understand how infection rates are changing, NashvilleHealth shares tracking updates and insights based on TDH data.

Data acquired from the TDH Website, as of April 1 analyzed by Sajid Khan, Change Healthcare and NashvilleHealth Board.

*Total TN & Other County Cases Include Out Of State Cases Diagnosed in TN