222:. Though not under the direct supervision of the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, metro health department directors and staff members work collaboratively with TDH regional and TDH central office staff on a variety of public health services and functions. By statute, the Commissioner, in consultation with county mayors, appoints each new county director including metros. By tradition, metro health departments are engaged directly in day-to-day pre-decisional tactical operations through the Health Systems Council structure. The metro health departments serve approximately 40 percent of Tennesseans and are another source of population health innovations that are often identified as best practices and adopted by their rural counterparts statewide.
240:, three committees, two councils and four registries responsible for the licensure and regulation of more than three dozen health and medical professions in Tennessee. Approximately 260,000 individuals are licensed and regulated by the boards. Board members are appointed by the Governor. Tennessee has had a licensing board for health professionals since 1947. Additionally, the Tennessee Office of Health Care Facilities licenses 14 different types of facilities. Currently, more 2,400 facilities are inspected.
301:(TDA) is responsible for those food service providers that are physically a part of another retail establishment, such as a gas station or convenience store. Establishments, operations and services licensed and regulated by the Tennessee Department of Health include food service providers that are ‘free-standing’ and not associated with other retail operations; hotels, motels and camps; public swimming pools, spas, hot tubs and camps; body art facilities; correctional facilities; and more.
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The department maintains efforts to prevent the spread of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases. Tennessee is home to a number of insects or arthropods that are known carriers of disease. Illnesses such as West Nile Virus, La Cross
Encephalitis and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, though rare, do occur in
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In both rural and metro areas, a county board of health, whose members are appointed under their local form of governance and serve varying term lengths without financial compensation, provide oversight of their county's public health department. County boards of health typically include at least one
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The
Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health is appointed by the Governor and oversees an enterprise affecting population health across the state. The commissioner, in turn, has an executive leadership team reporting directly to him that manages various areas or responsibilities within the
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In 2014, some 1.4 million of
Tennessee's 6.6 million people received direct services in the 89 rural county health departments or the six metropolitan county health departments. Each year the department, in collaboration with many communities, creates a state health plan to help provide direction for
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The
Tennessee Department of Health has seven regional offices located across Tennessee; each of these is responsible for assisting county health departments within their jurisdiction. The TDH commissioner is responsible for appointing both regional and county directors.
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173:(TDH) is the primary agency of state government in Tennessee responsible for public health. Its workforce provides a variety of direct and indirect services to residents and visitors in all 95 counties of the state.
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intended to maintain or improve health. Services include wellchild exams, fluoride varnish applications, immunizations, family planning, control of sexually transmitted diseases, nutrition counseling, the
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The
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pertaining to deaths and marriages are available from the TDH central office in
Nashville. For information about genealogy, researchers may also find information at the
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the state. Rabies, once a scourge in the state, is exceptionally rare thanks to effective vaccination programs for animals and heightened awareness in humans. The
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department. The department has had 15 Commissioners since its creation in 1923. The current
Commissioner is Ralph Alvarado, MD, FACP. He has served since 2023.
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medical doctor. Each county also has a separate and distinct county health council. These positions are also appointed and uncompensated.
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TDH Laboratory
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County health departments can also assist with those wanting certificates of births and deaths that occur in
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There are six metro health departments in Tennessee, located in the following counties:
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The Tennessee Department of Health provides staff members for the 24
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Metro and rural county health departments routinely engage with the
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external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into
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Medical and health organizations based in Tennessee
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Tennessee Department of Environment of Conservation
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Government organization in Tennessee, United States
265:assures all residents have access to a variety of
247:https://apps.health.tn.gov/Licensure/default.aspx
38:may not follow Knowledge's policies or guidelines
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272:Women, Infants and Children program
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334:"TN Dept. Of Health Annual Report"
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510:16 November
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64:August 2020
912:Categories
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486:2016-08-23
481:www.tn.gov
437:2016-08-23
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321:References
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337:(PDF)
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