Wed
Sep 13 2023
05:04 pm

Just curious, what does the Knox County Health Department do?

It seems like they have been diminished a bit and seem more under the control of non-health type people.

fischbobber's picture

Indigent care?

Not really sure where their focus is these days. I guess they all learned their lesson about speaking up and acting in the public interest after the way Jacobs did Buchanan. Can't blame them for trying to fade away.

fischbobber's picture

Covid Numbers today

The Health Department released last weeks covid numbers today with an interesting caveat. All of last weeks numbers were changed form what they were last week. Every one. I cross checked this with last weeks Friday Compass article. I not sure why, but it goes a long way in explaining just how we ran out of ambulances last week.

fischbobber's picture

I found this today.

(link...)

Looks like no one knows what's going on there.

fischbobber's picture

Couple random thoughts on this issue.

For whatever reason, the Advisory Board of Health Meeting had their public access restored and the meetings are one again broadcast on CTV. Since the open records act and sunshine laws no longer apply to the ABOH, this was an unexpected find when I went to research the issue. The last meeting was in April, though, near as I could tell there was a meeting scheduled for last week.

I can't find any evidence that that meeting happened.

The major topic at Aprils meeting was trying to define just why they were all there. All power, purpose, and function has been stripped from the Board of Health and frankly, if all they're going to do is listen to a trained numbers cruncher drone on about the budget, without having input, they have a valid point. Why are they even there?

bizgrrl's picture

Thanks for the follow-up. We

Thanks for the follow-up. We can only appreciate their efforts, as useless as they may be.

fischbobber's picture

Thanks for noticing.

It's lonely work. The absolute answer to this based on watching the last Advisory Board of Health Meeting, apparently the upper decision making structure of the Health Department budgets money. That being said, the Boyd Center says 8.3% of our population does not have insurance, the US Census Bureau says that number is 12.3% or roughly fifty percent more, which means at an average of ten covid patients a day, we currently have 60, there should be a line item in this budget for at least 3,029, 500 dollars for indigent covid care alone. Since this yearly number is likely closer to 10,000,000 (and was considerably more in our previous two years fighting covid) we are at the point where the number is starting to become a real burden on our County budget, those funds have to come from government or volunteer agencies which generally have a much broader purpose than paying covid debt. In other words, we are allowing covid debt to take over and dominate all our indigent care. That money is going to have to come from somewhere, and it looks like right now Mayor Jacobs is trying to cover up the fact that this budget line item even exists by cannibalizing the money from other budgeted areas. This would indicate that we haven't bottomed out in the medical infrastructure collapse and that Lisa Edwards and the ambulance crisis are but the first of many situations relating to the ongoing mismanagement of our medical infrastructure. The city and Counties I have been using in comparison, Madison , Dane County Wi. topped out at 22 patients this surge with a vaccination rate of 45%. We have a vaccination rate (based on bivalent booster) of about 8.3%. We are currently showing 60 patients and that number could possibly still rise depending upon where the hospitalization curve lies in relation to the known cases curve. We have a ways to go before we become completely non-functioning, but I would submit we are traveling down that road faster than any community in America.

fischbobber's picture

Under the conservative scenario I just presented.....

The last two weeks of covid patient would have used up 84 days of resources. As a community, we can not longer handle the fiscal burden of an ineffective covid mitigation campaign. It's no longer about battling disease and philosophical arguments about about freedom, it's about whether or not the citizens are going to allow Glenn Jacobs to bankrupt the county. Uncle Joe is no longer picking up Glenn's tab. From here on out, Jacobs mistakes will be paid for by from Knox County Taxpayers.

fischbobber's picture

To put it in perspective,

As of this fiscal year, our teachers will forego an ongoing raise of $2500.00 a year in order to fund Mayor Jacobs covid plan. Click of Dane Co. Wi. covid dashboard and do the math yourself, please, someone.

bizgrrl's picture

Wonder what are the extended

Wonder what are the extended hours?

Knox County Health Dept.

Main Clinic
140 Dameron Ave,
Knoxville, TN 37917
865-215-5000

West Clinic
1028 Old Cedar Bluff
Knoxville, TN 37923
865-215-5950

Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:00 am - 4:30 pm

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