Tennessee

Vanderbilt Hospital Under Civil Rights Investigation Over Releasing Transgender Patient Records To Tennessee AG

Published

1 year ago

August 12, 2023

Vanderbilt Hospital Under Civil Rights Investigation Over Releasing Transgender Patient Records To Tennessee AG

Topline

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is under investigation from the Department of Health and Human Services after it provided medical records of patients to Tennessee’s Republican attorney general, the hospital told Forbes—the latest escalation in a saga that has placed the hospital into the middle of the state’s culture war over transgender health care.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee is pictured on July 16, 2013. (AP … [+] Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

Key Facts

VUMC spokesperson John Howser told Forbes via email “we have been contacted by and are working with the Office of Civil Rights,” but declined to comment further as it is an ongoing investigation.

The news comes after the hospital turned over records on more than 100 patients from its transgender clinic and elsewhere in the hospital to Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office in June as part of a medical billing fraud investigation, a move that sparked privacy concerns amid a political environment increasingly hostile toward the transgender community.

Additionally, the medical records of state workers, the adult children and spouses of state workers and patients of the state’s Medicaid program TennCare—some of whom weren’t patients at transgender clinic—were also shared, the Associated Press reported.

It also comes two weeks after the hospital was sued by two of those 100 patients who allege that VUMC should have removed any personally identifying information from the records before they were turned over, especially because it knew Tennessee officials were hostile toward transgender people, the Associated Press reported.

Key Background

VUMC’s pediatric transgender clinic was forced to suspend operations after a law banning gender-affirming care for minors passed in the Tennessee state legislature was signed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee in March. The clinic first found itself at the center of a divisive debate over transgender care in September 2022, when videos surfaced of VUMC doctors allegedly touting transgender surgeries as “huge money makers” and telling any employees with a religious objection to providing transgender care that they should quit. When it was operating, the transgender clinic offered surgery to an average of five minors per year, none of whom received genital procedures—and all of whom were at least 16 years old and had parental consent—the hospital has said. After the release of these videos, right-wing figures like Matt Walsh, the controversial conservative internet personality who originally published the videos, leveled sharp attacks against the hospital. In response to the videos and conservative backlash, Skrmetti said his office planned to investigate VUMC.

News Peg

The debate over transgender care in the U.S. has become an increasingly vitriolic issue in American politics. Tennessee is among 19 states that have passed bans or restrictions on transgender health care in 2023 alone, according to a list compiled by Forbes—others being Louisiana, North Carolina, Missouri, Texas, Nebraska, Florida, Oklahoma, Montana, North Dakota, Indiana, Idaho, West Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, South Dakota and Utah. That’s in addition to three other states—Alabama, Arizona and Arkansas—that passed such legislation in 2021 and 2022. This type of legislation has become a rallying cry for the GOP, which has become increasingly hostile to transgender health care, despite consensus from most major medical associations that the care is beneficial and necessary.

Tennessee Football Opens as a Big Road Favorite over Arkansas

Published

5 hours ago

September 26, 2024

Press Room

Tennessee Football Opens as a Big Road Favorite over Arkansas

The No. 5 Vols are off this week before heading to Fayetteville for another SEC night game on the road at Arkansas.

The Vols have opened as an 11-point favorite as of Thursday afternoon, according to DraftKings. The Razorbacks will be playing against Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas this week before their matchup with Tennessee. The kickoff time for the Vols and Razorbacks will be either 7 or 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN or ABC.

The Razorbacks are 4.5-point underdogs to the Aggies this weekend. They lead the all-time series with Texas A&M 42-35-3. But since the Aggies have joined the SEC, things have flipped. The Razorbacks have lost 11 of the 12 games that the two have played as SEC rivals.

Arkansas has had an inconsistent season so far in 2024. The Razorbacks are 3-1 and easily could be 4-0 if not for collapsing against Oklahoma State after having an early lead. They have an explosive offense led by quarterback Taylen Green. But he is prone to making mistakes so far.

Green has 957 passing yards this year but only four touchdowns and four interceptions. He also has 325 rushing yards and four scores on the ground. Containing him will likely be Tennessee’s biggest defensive test of the season so far.

Despite the Vols’ great start to the season, a night game in the SEC will not be easy. Arkansas has proven to be a capable offensive team and one that can win in tough environments. The Razorbacks just won their first SEC game of 2024 at Auburn 24-14.

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Tennessee

Vote: Who should be High School on SI’s Tennessee Football Player of the Week? (9/25/2024)

Published

16 hours ago

September 26, 2024

Press Room

Vote: Who should be High School on SI’s Tennessee Football Player of the Week? (9/25/2024)

Tennessee high school football is back and so begins our Player of the Week polls for the state. Teams showcased more of what they’ve got heading into Week 4 of the regular season.

As such, we have eight athletes nominated this week for the SBLive’s Tennessee Football Player of the Week award from September 19-21, and we ask you, the fans, to help decide who should indeed be the top athlete selected.

The senior quarterback rushed for 225 yards on 13 attempts, scoring two touchdowns in a 49-14 victory over Spring Hill. Also threw for 39 yards and a score.

SBLive voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You can vote as often as you wish and are encouraged to share our polls with others. The use of voting bots and other forms of automated voting are not allowed. Individuals will be removed from the poll if any form of automated voting can be verified. – SBLive Sports

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Sep. 29th. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:

Yes, Dobbs won last week’s designation and is in line to do so again after last week’s performance. The running back carried the rock 37 times for 271 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-35 win over Tullahoma.

The junior running back carried the ball 21 times for 136 yards and scored two touchdowns in a 36-22 win over Tri-Cities Christian.

Cretsinger was making plays everywhere in Johnson City’s thrilling 49-32 win over Ashe County. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound linebacker made 14 tackles, three for loss and picked off two passes.

Drapeau was dealing in McCallie’s 41-9 win over Brentwood Academy last week. The signal caller completed 12-of-18 passes for 256 yards and four touchdowns.

Try not to look at the yards perse, but the effectiveness of Sloan. The junior carried the ball five times for 22 yards and scored three touchdowns in David Crockett’s 41-39 win over Cocke County.

The junior signal caller had a day in Briarcrest Christian’s 31-28 win over Knoxville Catholic. Tucker completed 19-of-31 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns.

One of the state’s top rushing performances came from Martinez in East Robertson’s 43-27 win over Jo Byrns. The running back rushed for 214 yards on 25 attempts and scored three touchdowns.

The sophomore quarterback put on a show in White House’s 35-31 win over Forrest, with Murray completing 23-of-30 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns.

Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news.

SBLIVE SPORTS LAUNCHES HIGH SCHOOL ON SI

High School On SI will serve as the premier destination for high school sports fans, delivering unparalleled coverage of high school athletics nationwide through in-depth stories, recruiting coverage, rankings, highlights and much more. The launch of a dedicated high school experience expands Sports Illustrated’s reach to even more local communities as fans can now truly follow athletes from “preps to the pros” on a single platform, bringing them closer to the action than ever before. For more information, visit si.com/high-school.

To get live updates on your phone – as well as follow your favorite teams and top games – you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App| Download Android App

— Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports

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Tennessee

Whooping cough cases on rise in Tennessee, adolescents at risk

Published

1 day ago

September 25, 2024

Press Room

Whooping cough cases on rise in Tennessee, adolescents at risk

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Whooping cough cases are on the rise in Tennessee. The numbers for this year, so far, are more than double than the number of total cases in all of last year.

For mom of three and an early elementary school teacher, Margaret Beagle, says she tries to do what she can to prevent her kids from getting sick.

”A lot of hand washing, a lot of reminders about hand-washing, so much hand washing,” said Beagle. “I cannot describe the amount of hand washing. A lot of sanitizing. A lot of lessons on hygiene how to use a tissue to wipe your nose how to sneeze into your elbow.”

She said once one gets sick, it’s just a matter of time, ”Some years, we’ve had to close our whole classroom because a high percentage of children have whopping cough, flu, strep or things like that. So, I think being careful at the beginning can stop those germs from spreading.”

The Metro Public Health Department says prevention is key when it comes to respiratory illnesses like whooping cough, which is a contagious bacterial disease.

Last year, there were 52 cases of whooping cough in Tennessee. This year to date there have already been 189 cases.

Interim Director of the department, Joanna Shaw-KaiKai said, ”There are multiple factors. We know during the pandemic people were going to less medical visits, so adults and children were getting less vaccinations. Also, during that time people were isolating more.”

The department says nationwide they’re seeing the same thing, “We’re seeing it to be more in the adolescent and adult population. The good thing is that there is antibiotics to treat it, but even better, there is a vaccine.”

Sometimes when prevention isn’t enough, Beagle and the department agree on trying to stay home if you’re sick.

Beagle said, ”I kept them home when they were sick as much as possible and I know that’s hard for working families, but just trying to keep them home and keep it contained.”

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