New data-driven report examines the impact of COVID-19 in Nashville – WKRN News 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Its a roadmap to recovery of sorts and the first-of-its-kind in the nation. Nashville is said to be the first U.S city to conduct an in-depth report on its coronavirus response.

News 2, reviewed that report Wednesday, which highlights what the city learned and how Nashville can better prepare for a pandemic in the future.

One of the biggest lessons throughout the pandemic, Dr. Alex Jahangir, Chair of Nashville COVID-19 Taskforce said, is that public health is not a political hot potato.

Its easy to point out whats wrong. Its easy to point out whats right, but what you can do moving forward is the hard part, said Kristi Mitchell, CEO & Founder of Health Equity Outcomes and Consultant for Avalere Health.

The nearly 60-page report, Strategies for Future Preparedness: Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on Nashville, outlines both the good and the bad, with short, medium and long-term recommendations for Metro government, hospitals, businesses and community leaders.

The main recommendations are as follows:

I think at this point, COVID as we know it is going to be with us for a while, Dr. Jahangir said. Lets use the lessons were learning to continue to improve how were moving forward.

After months of interviews and extensive research, Avalere Health found that Nashville has chronic inadequate funding, a workforce shortage and outdated infrastructure that has limited our public health sectors response.

Mitchell said Nashville needs to invest more in public health infrastructure, crisis readiness, data sharing and its collection.

She added the lack of sufficient resources and staffing to effectively support the demand for contact tracing, testing and other public health capabilities placed a significant burden on vulnerable populations, which the report shows were disproportionally impacted both physically and economically.

Research also uncovered that small business owners had challenges accessing and applying for certain loans.

Its going to come down to funding from state federal and local level and it comes down to really investing in leadership and workforce. You cant move a vehicle if you dont have an engine, Mitchell said.

As we continue to maneuver COVID-19, leaders hope the data-driven roadmap of pandemic dos and donts helps us in a future health crisis.

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New data-driven report examines the impact of COVID-19 in Nashville - WKRN News 2