Tennessee Women’s Health Gets “Barely Passing” Grades

A new report card on the health of Tennessee women is out. It’s heavy on Cs, Ds, and Fs, but there are signs of improvement.

The report card was compiled by the state Department of Health along with several public and private universities.

It shows that infant mortality rates are high, but improving. A growing number of women have diabetes, but fewer are dying from the disease.

Most As come in the area of preventive measures. More women are getting mammograms and pap smears. But the state earns nearly straight Fs in the category of sexually transmitted diseases. The rate of infection is growing for HIV, gonorrhea and chlamydia, although those statistics may reflect more thorough screening for the diseases.

Valerie Montgomery Rice says that, overall, the state has earned a barely passing grade. She directs the Center for Women’s Health Research at Meharry Medical College. Now that the evaluation has been done, Rice says it’s time for action.

“I actually don’t want to go to not one more retreat, one more session where we have three days where we pull up information, etc., we come out with all of these grand plans and then we don’t implement them fully. It’s time for us to do better for the women in the state of Tennessee, and I know that we can do this.”

Rice points out that for many women, the list of what’s needed include things like nearby stores that sell more than junk food, reliable transportation to doctors offices, and a way to get all the medicines that they’re prescribed.

Similar reports on children, men’s health, and preventive medicine are due to be released in the coming months. You can see the full report card on Women’s Health here.

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