Tennessee’s Title X funding has been on a rollercoaster for years, and the drama is continuing into President Donald Trump’s second term.
Catherine Sweeney
Catherine Sweeney is WPLN’s health reporter. Before joining the station, she covered health for Oklahoma’s NPR member stations. That was her first job in public radio. Until then, she wrote about state and local government for newspapers in Oklahoma and Colorado. In her free time, she likes to cycle through hobbies, which include crochet, embroidery, baking, cooking and weightlifting.
Metro Nashville joins lawsuit against federal government again — this time over sudden public health cuts
Metro Nashville and a handful of other local governments are suing the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. The agency cut $11 billion in local public health funding — without warning — earlier this year.
RFK stumps for overdose prevention in Nashville as Tennessee’s death rate declines
Before his appointment as HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cast doubt on drugs like methadone, which help opioid use disorder patients stave off withdrawal and cravings. He touted them at the RX and Illicit Drug Summit in Nashville.
Study: Rural Tennessee hospitals could lose additional labor and delivery wings
Rural Tennesseans already have limited access to labor and delivery services, and a recent study shows the problem could get worse.
Death row lawyers ask governor for another execution moratorium while courts review protocol
Attorneys for nine death row inmates argue the state’s new lethal injection protocol contains even fewer protections than the plan found deficient in 2022.
How Nashville is addressing overdoses in its booming tourism district
Business owners and city officials in Nashville have implemented a program that uses an opioid reversal kit created in West Virginia to bolster harm reduction efforts in the city’s tourism district.
Tennessee lawmakers could pass abortion ban exceptions. What would they include?
Tennessee lawmakers will likely formalize a list of medical conditions that qualify for abortion exceptions — but it won’t include mental health conditions or nonviable pregnancies.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center will cut at least $250M as federal government slashes health spending
CEO Jeff Balser informed his staff about the reductions in a video last week. The transcript says the cuts are happening because of “actions being taken in D.C.” It doesn’t mention specific policies or any federal officials by name.
‘Like having a newborn at home’: Caring for Nashville Zoo’s new clouded leopard cub requires all hands on deck
One of the Nashville Zoo’s most high-profile conservation efforts involves big cats who are notoriously hard to breed: clouded leopards. The veterinary staff is currently caring for the 44th cub born at the facility.
Tennessee finds first measles case
Tennessee’s measles vaccination rate is much lower than it needs to be for community protection, and health leaders fear that misinformation is a contributing reason.
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