Nashville Launches COVID-19 Response Review

NASHVILLE – NashvilleHealth, in partnership with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Nashville Health Care Council, and Meharry Medical College Center for the Study of the Social Determinants of Health, is launching the Nashville COVID-19 Response Review, a forward-thinking look at our citywide response to the COVID pandemic with the goal of readying the city for the next health crisis.

“We have a unique opportunity to take learnings from this pandemic, what went well, where innovative partnerships emerged, where there were gaps, and use these insights to drive change that will better prepare us for the next health crisis,” said Senator Bill Frist, M.D., founder and chairman of NashvilleHealth. “This project can serve as a model for other communities in their efforts to recover and plan for the future.”

The review, conducted with support from Washington D.C.-based Avalere Health, will explore five key domains, including the area’s pandemic infrastructure preparedness, economic response, policy response, public health and healthcare response, and approach to vaccine rollout. It will prioritize how Nashville has addressed the needs of vulnerable populations, and will seek to understand their access to healthcare resources, essential supports and vaccines.

“Our vulnerable populations have been most profoundly stricken by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said James Hildreth, M.D., president and CEO, professor of Internal Medicine, Meharry Medical College. “It’s critical we look at socio-economic factors and policies that attributed to this outcome and propose ways we can better serve vulnerable populations to reduce disease burden in future health crisis.”

Project leaders will employ a convergent mixed-methods design to collect, analyze, and synthesize key quantitative and qualitative data pertinent to Nashville’s pandemic response.

A steering committee, comprised of more than 20 diverse leaders from the areas of government, business, faith, community and health, will provide a guiding voice throughout the project, offering critical feedback, community connectivity and thought leadership. 

“We will be more ready because we took this opportunity to thoughtfully and collectively review our  efforts,” said Steering Committee chairman and former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell. “Our insights will position us to support our friends and neighbors all across the city in new and innovative ways because we will have better knowledge and understanding in real time.”

This project is made possible with support from the following organizations: Amerigroup, Ascension Saint Thomas, HCA Healthcare/Tri-Star Health, Meharry Medical College, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, The Frist Foundation, United Way of Greater Nashville, The Healing Trust, NashvilleHealth, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Nashville Health Care Council, and Joe C. Davis Foundation.

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About NashvilleHealth

NashvilleHealth is dedicated to creating a culture of health and well-being by serving as a convener to open dialogue, align resources, and build smart strategic partnerships to move the needle on health outcomes and close the gap in health disparities. To achieve this, we identify health challenges, build coalitions for action, catalyze solution implementation and measure outcomes. For more information, visit nashvillehealth.org.