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What Financial Risk Management Has To Do With Climate Change – And The Price Of Inaction (Forbes)
Jul 10FORBES | When we talk about the long-term risks of climate change, it’s hard for the American public, for company executives, and for lawmakers alike to accurately picture what the implications of climate inaction will mean ten, twenty, or fifty years from now. We hear stories of worst-case scenarios, but sometimes it sounds more like…
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How A Changing Climate Is A Threat To The Stability Of Our Federal Budget (Forbes)
Jun 14FORBES | According to recent data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA, 2022 tied as the fifth warmest year on record. Why does this matter? Well, a warming climate directly affects the health of you as an individual – and your family, communities, businesses, and our overall economy. We are seeing…
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It’s World Ocean Day: Here’s Why Life Depends On Our Oceans (Forbes)
Jun 8FORBES | June is the month when the global community honors the crucial services the ocean provides. From World Ocean Day (June 8 this year) to the United Nations Ocean Conference (June 27-July 1), we celebrate that the ocean sustains all life on the planet and call attention to the threats to its future. Many don’t…
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How Ecuador Serves As A Solutions Incubator To Restore The Planet’s Water Health: The Nature Conservancy Model For The World (Forbes)
May 31FORBES | Clean and accessible water is essential to life, and closely linked to economic vitality. As the World Health Organization explains, “Improved water supply and sanitation, and better management of water resources, can boost countries’ economic growth and can contribute greatly to poverty reduction.” Yet water insecurity affects one in four people globally, with an…
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We know firsthand: Public health security is national security (The Hill)
May 26THE HILL | Nearly two decades ago, Congress passed the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) to protect our country and prepare for natural disasters and biological, chemical and radiological threats. Since then, the provisions enacted in that legislation and subsequent reauthorizations have proven critical to shoring up our public health infrastructure and protecting our national health…
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he Massive New Public Health Threat To Kids: What Policies Would You Consider To Address Gun Safety? (Forbes)
May 3FORBES | On Monday March 27th, Nashville was forever changed. Six people, including three nine-year old children, died in a mass shooting at The Covenant School. Since then, I have been asked repeatedly: what can we do to keep this from happening again? At the time, I didn’t have an answer. But since then, I’ve…
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Gun violence is the No. 1 killer of children; here are common-sense steps to address it (The Tennessean)
Apr 17THE TENNESSEAN | The perfect storm of easy access to firearms combined with a pandemic-fueled mental health crisis has brought us to a boiling point. On March 31, 9-year-old Evelyn Dieckhaus was scheduled to sing Louis Armstrong’s classic song “What A Wonderful World” at a play at Nashville’s Covenant School. Instead, country music artist Vince Gill…
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Mitch McConnell: The 100 Most Influential People of 2023 (Time)
Apr 13TIME | Mitch McConnell this year became the longest-serving Senate leader of either party in history—and for a reason. He leads exceptionally, every two years overwhelmingly affirmed by his colleagues. My perspective is colored by the four years he served as whip when I was leader. Every day I saw his style: leadership with clarity, uncanny…
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How The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Has Influenced Health Policy – And My Own Life – For Five Decades (Forbes)
Mar 16FORBES | Private foundations in America play a unique and vital role in advancing social progress. That is well known. What is less recognized is the impact such Foundations have on individuals who work within them. This story is a personal one. In January, I completed a decade of service on the Board of the Robert Wood…
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Food-borne illness is a public health crisis: Congress must act (The Hill)
Mar 4THE HILL | On Jan. 31, the Food and Drug Administration proposed a redesign of its human food program in response to several ongoing food crises impacting public safety and the health of millions of Americans. The redesign attempts to solve leadership and funding problems identified by an expert panel in December. Unfortunately, the proposal does little to fix the most urgent or…
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In a Divided Congress, Four Opportunities for Cooperation on Nature (Nature.org)
Feb 7NATURE.ORG | December closed one of the most productive U.S. federal legislative sessions for nature ever. By the time the 117th U.S. Congress gaveled out, it had advanced the country’s largest investment in climate action; a massive bipartisan infrastructure package that heavily invests in nature, clean energy, and climate resilience; and a host of bills related to water infrastructure,…
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How The Busiest Heart Transplant Center In The World Got Its Start – An Inside Story Of The First Decade (Forbes)
Feb 6FORBES | The Vanderbilt Transplant Center is currently the busiest heart transplant center in the world. This is the story of building the foundation for what the Center has become today — a narrative of the initial decade of the 34 years since the founding of this first-of-its-kind, multidisciplinary, multi-organ transplant center. Over 12,300 adult…
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Addressing childhood obesity also supports US military readiness (The Hill)
Dec 14THE HILL | Our childhood obesity epidemic here in the U.S. is as concerning as it is well-documented. It’s no secret that obesity trends have been on the rise for the last 20 years. In fact, in 2016, 18.5 percent of youth ages 2-19 were classified as obese. And it’s only getting worse. The implications of these…
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Tennessee must refocus our education system to help more students succeed (The Tennessean)
Dec 8THE TENNESSEAN | For the better part of two decades, Tennessee has been on a journey to significantly improve public education and workforce opportunities for all Tennesseans. And by working together, we have made significant progress, moving from the back of the pack to one of the most improved and innovative states in the country…
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Congress: Close the gap between funding for nutrition research and the toll diet-related disease takes on Americans (Stat)
Dec 2STAT | You are what you eat. Every year, new scientific discoveries make clear that food is critical to health. In recent years, nutrition research trials have shown that a Mediterranean diet reduces cardiovascular disease; ultra-processed foods increase weight gain; omega-3 fatty acids improve IQ in preterm babies; cocoa prevents heart attacks; and vitamin D supplements do — well, almost nothing. But many…
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How A Rock Star, A Physician-Legislator, And An Evangelical Senator Bonded To Help End The Global AIDS Pandemic: A Backstory (Forbes)
Dec 1FORBES | In 1998 before I was Senate Majority Leader, and before Bono’s name became synonymous with addressing the AIDS pandemic and the RED campaign, he visited my Senate office to lobby me, and then collaborate with me, on the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative to provide debt relief to the world’s poorest nations,…
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Let’s harness our heritage to revitalize Tennessee main streets and communities (The Tennessean)
Dec 1THE TENNESSEAN |Tennessee is rich in history, but the physical evidence of our heritage is increasingly threatened by our state’s dramatic growth. The structures that have served for generations as the center of spiritual, social, cultural and economic vitality are being torn down or left in disrepair because of the misguided notion that it’s always…
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Tracy R. Frist Establishes Fund To Support Ferrum College and Blue Ridge Institute’s Preservation of Appalachian Literature and Folktales
Nov 22This November, former Ferrum College student and longtime supporter of the College, Tracy R. Frist, made a generous gift to Ferrum College to support the College’s Appalachian Literature project (AppLit) and the digitizing and archiving needs of the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum (BRIM). “Tracy’s generous gift to the BRIM archive will provide us with…
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Can Nature Be Our Climate Defender? Adaptive Strategies Lead To A Sustainable Future Where People And Nature Thrive (Forbes)
Nov 16FORBES | Friday, November 18th marks the final day of COP27 – the United Nations 27th annual Climate Change conference. Each year this conference convenes leaders from nearly 200 nations. And each year, the stakes are higher. This year seems especially poignant. The global community is under tremendous pressure to achieve the goals outlined in COP21’s Paris Agreement…
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How the ‘red ripple’ could impact health policy in 2023 and beyond (The Hill)
Nov 14THE HILL | Rather than a red wave, the 2022 congressional midterms brought a ‘red ripple’. With races still being decided and votes counted, Democrats have won control of the Senate, despite a runoff in Georgia. It looks like Republicans will take back the House — albeit with a much smaller majority than they had hoped. …
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Congress must not miss the chance to reform the Electoral Count Act (The Hill)
Nov 6THE HILL | It was Jan. 6, and a United States Senator and a member of the House of Representatives had just issued a formal challenge to the electoral votes from one state — halting congressional ratification of the presidential election results. It was nearly unprecedented, and turned a civilized ceremony into what one publication referred to…
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It’s Time To Prioritize Nutrition: Better Diet Quality Leads To Better Health And Wellbeing For Americans (Forbes)
Sep 23FORBES | September should be a big month for nutrition. For too long, we have struggled and failed to curb food and nutrition insecurity, to mitigate rising rates of obesity, and to reduce the prevalence of diet-related chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease. This issue is very real to many of…
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65 Years Later: A School Bombing, A Steady Leader, And A Message Of Hope (Forbes)
Sep 9FORBES | In times of uncertainty, we know leadership matters more than ever. I see this from leaders firsthand every day – leadership in improving health outcomes, in driving better policy, in rising to the moment to solve tough challenges – from conservation to economic mobility. Recently, I have been reflecting on the power and…
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Cultivating A Culture Of Health: How Comprehensive Community-Wide Hypertension Data Are Inspiring Heath Equity (Forbes)
Aug 18FORBES | It’s no secret that the best data often begets the best policy, especially when it comes to community health and wellness. Having accurate, timely, and well-informed data is often the difference maker that allows communities to dramatically move the needle on health disparities. When it comes to health disparities, the city of Nashville…
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The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health is an opportunity for transformational change (Nature Food)
Aug 8NATURE FOOD | More than 50 years ago, President Richard Nixon convened the 1969 White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health, bringing together all the agencies of the US government, Congress and other stakeholders to address widespread hunger in the United States. That conference — chaired and organized by Dr Jean Mayer, the founder…
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Twenty-Five Years After My House Call To Dolly: What Have We Learned About Cloning And How Did We Learn It? (Forbes)
Aug 2FORBES | Twenty-five years ago, the scientific breakthrough of mammalian cloning marked a monumental moment in medicine and science. Anticipating the collision it would have with ethical decision making in medicine, I, the only physician-scientist in the U.S. Senate at the time, journeyed to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland to personally visit Sir Ian…
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Changed Hearts And Minds – A Personal (Ongoing) Journey To Better Understanding LGBTQ+ Equity Issues (Forbes)
Jul 1FORBES | Last week, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas opined that we should revisit several major Supreme Court decisions, including Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage. This startled me. But it also moved me to reflect on my own past. And some of these recollections are painful to look back upon. Two decades ago I…
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Can We Unite Around Gun Safety? Yes, Think Local And Get The Data (Forbes)
Jun 24FORBES | Earlier this week, as I was checking in at the Aspen Ideas Festival, a man approached me unexpectedly. He said, “Excuse me, Dr.-Senator Frist. I am a pastor in North Carolina. I want to bring people together on gun issues, right and left, Republican and Democrat, rural and urban. Is it possible? And…
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Reducing The Health Harms Of Incarceration: Five Big Ideas From The Aspen Health Strategy Group (Forbes)
Jun 15FORBES | Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world with 10 million people incarcerated each year, yet the health of these individuals is truly an afterthought. We must recognize that their experiences and their health outcomes are not contained in a vacuum. These individuals are often struggling with undiagnosed or untreated behavioral…
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Nature And People Positive Solutions: The Nature Conservancy In Belize (Forbes)
Jun 9FORBES | The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has a storied history of local, regional, and global environmental protection and conservation efforts centered on sound principles and comprehensive solutions. Since 1951, TNC has used a collaborative approach that engages communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners to combat some of our world’s toughest challenges like climate…
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Reevaluating, Reimagining, And Reinventing Healthcare: Innovation In A Post-Pandemic World (Forbes)
May 4FORBES | Since its onset, COVID-19 has been the focal point of recent healthcare innovation and advancement. Though the past couple of years have been filled with innumerable advancements of health technologies, much opportunity for reevaluating, reimagining, and reinventing the future of healthcare remains. The next two years will set the scope for what is…
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Tennesseans Answer The Call: Volunteer State Leads Rapid Response Efforts For Ukrainian Requested Medical Supplies (Forbes)
Apr 26FORBES | We have watched the tragedy in Ukraine unfold with a continual stream of shocking live video footage. Many of us seeing the struggle on our screens have been left wondering how something like this could possibly happen during this day and age. It seems so foreign, so distant, yet—at the same time—so close….
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The global crisis of COVID orphanhood (The Hill)
Mar 29THE HILL | The flood of Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s brutal invasion reminds us that the pain of war often falls most heavily on those with the least ability to cope, especially children. The same is true of our battle with COVID-19, which has now left over 7 million children worldwide suffering from the loss of…
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Commissioner Califf needs to put the F back in FDA (Stat)
Mar 14STAT | Robert Califf is taking the reins as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration with the nation in a nutrition crisis. Americans are living shorter, less-healthy lives due to the foods they are being sold. The new commissioner can meet this challenge by harnessing the FDA’s effective but underused food-related regulatory powers, which were…
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Congress should create a national board on pandemic preparedness (The Hill)
Feb 15THE HILL | As we approach the frightening, chilling milestone of nearly 1 million dead from COVID-19, it should go without question that preventing this loss of life again should be a top priority of our United States Congress, regardless of party affiliation. The recent release of a discussion draft of the bipartisan Prepare for…
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“A Storm For Which We Are Entirely Unprepared …”: A 2005 Pandemic Prophecy & Call For A “Manhattan Project” For The 21st Century (Forbes)
Feb 2FORBES | Two years ago this week, the United States declared a public health emergency in response to what was then being referred to as the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, now widely known to all as COVID-19. Few envisioned how all-encompassing and destructive this virus would become. Few would have believed that two years later, it would have…
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Omicron And Our Economic Forecast: What’s Next For Fiscal And Monetary Policy? (Forbes)
Jan 25FORBES | The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impact on our domestic economy. It comes as no surprise that the ongoing pandemic will continue to influence our economic policies for years to come. The challenge lies, however, in predicting what this will look like and what the long-term ramifications will be. At the start of…
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Your health (and you thought climate change was not about you) (The Hill)
Jan 19THE HILL | New Year’s resolutions: chances are we’ve made — and broken — a few of them. And, chances are many of those resolutions have been related to our health: exercise more, eat better, stop smoking. But what if, in 2022, we resolved to improve our health by taking action against climate change? According…
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Remembering Larry King: Master Of The Wise Interview, Who Cared To Listen (Forbes)
Jan 19FORBES | I met Larry King for the first time over 33 years ago as an unknown heart transplant surgeon leading the Vanderbilt Multi-Organ Transplant Center in Nashville. Larry was just a few years into his hit show, “Larry King Live”, on CNN. He had invited my friend Barbara Mandrell, arguably the biggest female star…
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A Call For Data Equity: Using Pandemic Data Mishaps To Improve Health Outcomes (Forbes)
Jan 11FORBES | Where we live determines how long we live. Read that again. Health disparities, in large part, are determined by where we live. In Nashville—a city that prides itself on being a renowned healthcare hub—life expectancy increases 5 years by moving to the neighboring Williamson County. Similar patterns hold true in other cities all over the…
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Rethinking How And What We Eat With Dr. Mark Hyman (Forbes)
Aug 12FORBES | If Dean Ornish is the father of lifestyle medicine, Dr. Mark Hyman is the food as medicine master. With his New York TimesNYT+1% best-selling books, a top-rated podcast, “The Doctor’s Farmacy,” and visionary leadership of the Center for Functional Medicine at Cleveland Clinic, Hyman is changing the conversation about the nation’s relationship with food to improve…
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Tennessean: In 1998, Tennessee Sen. Bill Frist ran to help during a deadly U.S. Capitol shooting
Jan 21By Rachel Wegner | Published in the Tennessean on January 14, 2021 On July 24, 1998, a gunman went on a rampage through the halls of the U.S. Capitol, leaving two Capitol Police officers dead and a tourist seriously injured. The gunman had been shot multiple times by an officer when then-Tennessee Sen. Bill Frist…
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Senator Frist Statement on the Failed Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol
Jan 6January 6, 2021 | Our U.S. Capitol: “It was all so surreal. Everything was out of context and not the way it was supposed to be…. I looked upward and saw the majestic dome of the Capitol with the American flag, fluttering against the bright blue sky and blazing sun. How could this assault and death, senselessness and tragedy,…
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60% Of Americans Say Government Making Pandemic Worse. Here’s How We Restore Trust In Government & Science (Forbes)
Sep 8September 4, 2020 Forbes | President Trump has said a COVID-19 vaccine could be ready before Election Day on November 3, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) just advised state public health officials to prepare to distribute one to high-risk populations as soon as late October or early November. This comes on the heels of…
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Tennessee’s COVID-19 Update – A Weekly Analysis (Week of July 19 – 25, 2020)
Jul 29Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. As our state begins to reopen businesses, restaurants, and lift restrictions on stay at home orders, the statistics for infection rates are vitally important. NashvilleHealth is sharing weekly tracking updates and insights based on Department of…
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COVID-19 Laid Bare America’s Need to Confront Its Racial Health Disparities (Morning Consult)
Jul 24BY BILL FRIST & RHONDA MEDOWS Morning Consult | Every one of us is feeling the stress of these uncertain times. For Black Americans, the pain of the past several months has been especially devastating. Two viruses have reared their ugly head: COVID-19 and racism — both of which are killing people of color at disproportionate rates. Although…
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Tennessee’s COVID-19 Update – A Weekly Analysis (Week of July 12 – 18, 2020)
Jul 20Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. As our state begins to reopen businesses, restaurants, and lift restrictions on stay at home orders, the statistics for infection rates are vitally important. NashvilleHealth is sharing weekly tracking updates and insights based on…
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Let’s keep Tennessee in the forefront of telehealth advancement (The Tennessean)
Jul 17The Tennessean | We must continue to lay the groundwork that will allow virtual care to flourish so all Tennesseans will benefit. The physical distancing precautions Tennesseans have undertaken to slow the spread of the coronavirus has affected every aspect of our lives. These changes have necessitated hardships, especially in our workplaces, schools, and families. All…
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Tennessee’s COVID-19 Update – A Weekly Analysis (Week of July 5 – 11, 2020)
Jul 13Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. As our state begins to reopen businesses, restaurants, and lift restrictions on stay at home orders, the statistics for infection rates are vitally important. NashvilleHealth is sharing weekly tracking updates and insights based on…
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Tennessee’s COVID-19 Update – A Weekly Analysis (Week of June 28 – July 4, 2020)
Jul 13Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. As our state begins to reopen businesses, restaurants, and lift restrictions on stay at home orders, the statistics for infection rates are vitally important. NashvilleHealth is sharing weekly tracking updates and insights based on…
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2005: “Manhattan Project for the 21st Century” – Remarks Delivered at the Bohemian Grove
Jul 7Remarks as Delivered by Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. “Manhattan Project for the 21st Century” July 28, 2005 It is an honor for me to return to the Fellowship of the Grove and in this spectacular setting — the still waters, the glorious light — to share a few thoughts. To be honest, this setting…
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2005: Frist Calls For Manhattan Project For The 21st Century
Jul 7August 3rd, 2005 – U.S. Senate Majority Leader William H. Frist, M.D. delivered the following lecture at the Nantucket Atheneum. The talk titled “The Manhattan Project for the 21st Century” outlined the global threat of infectious disease and bioterrorism and the need to better prepare the United States and the world to respond to epidemics…
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Health leaders: We stuck together to #StayHome, now we can start together to #OpenSafely | Opinion (USA Today)
May 20USA Today | Americans want our country to open up safely. We have been at this for a number of difficult weeks since the global coronavirus pandemic began, and it has taken a toll. It has been a time of unprecedented challenge. To our health. To our jobs. To our social connections. To our health…
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Health leaders: We stuck together to #StayHome, now we can start together to #OpenSafely (USA Today)
May 20We don’t believe we need to wait until there is zero risk. Many states are already beginning to reopen and this must happen in the safest way possible. USA Today | Americans want our country to open up safely. We have been at this for a number of difficult weeks since the global coronavirus pandemic…
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To Prioritize Both Student Learning and Student Health, Schools Must Work Differently This Fall | Opinion (The Hill)
May 19BY FORMER SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TENN.) AND DAVID MANSOURI, OPINION CONTRIBUTORS The Hill | As states and communities across the nation address the significant public health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and begin the intentional reopening of our communities, it is important to also look ahead to an important benchmark: the return to…
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Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID-19 Cases – A Weekly Analysis (Week of May 10th, 2020)
May 19Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. As our state begins to reopen businesses, restaurants, and lift restrictions on stay at home orders, the statistics for infection rates are vitally important. NashvilleHealth is sharing weekly tracking updates and insights based on…
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Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID-19 Cases – A Weekly Analysis (Week of May 3rd, 2020)
May 13Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. As our state begins to reopen businesses, restaurants, and lift restrictions on stay at home orders, the statistics for infection rates are vitally important. NashvilleHealth is sharing weekly tracking updates and insights based on…
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The US should be a leader in the global fight against Covid-19 | Opinion (CNN)
May 8CNN | Americans are staring down an unprecedented crisis. We’ve already lost more than 71,000 of our fellow citizens. Millions of families live in fear and uncertainty every second. And large swaths of our workforce are losing their jobs each week. Together, we face a common, invisible enemy: the novel coronavirus, Covid-19. As two former US Senate majority leaders, we…
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Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID Cases – A Daily Analysis (April 29, 2020)
Apr 29Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. In an effort to raise awareness about these figures and understand how our changes in behavior – including business closures, school closures, and sheltering in place for non-essential workers – are impacting infection rates,…
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Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID Cases – A Daily Analysis (April 25, 2020)
Apr 26Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. In an effort to raise awareness about these figures and understand how our changes in behavior – including business closures, school closures, and sheltering in place for non-essential workers – are impacting infection rates,…
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Privatized contact tracing will help America safely reopen amid coronavirus pandemic | Opinion (The Tennessean)
Apr 23THE TENNESSEAN | South Korea proved it could contain COVID-19 without a lockdown through aggressive contact tracing. That is what the U.S. must do to be successful too. After implementing social distancing through a lockdown, but before deploying a vaccine, the single best tool we have to contain the COVID-19 pandemic is contact tracing. Countries…
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Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID Cases – A Daily Analysis (April 22, 2020)
Apr 22Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. In an effort to raise awareness about these figures and understand how our changes in behavior – including business closures, school closures, and sheltering in place for non-essential workers – are impacting infection rates,…
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What We Have Lost In Social Connections, We Can Gain In Nature (Forbes)
Apr 22FORBES | What We Have Lost In Social Connections, We Can Gain In Nature The coronavirus pandemic has stolen much from us: the company of our friends, the variety of our daily activity, the color of our social occasions, and—for too many—the stability of our livelihoods. It thrusts us into physical distancing, imposed isolation, and loneliness….
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Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID Cases – A Daily Analysis (April 21, 2020)
Apr 22Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. In an effort to raise awareness about these figures and understand how our changes in behavior – including business closures, school closures, and sheltering in place for non-essential workers – are impacting infection rates,…
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Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID Cases – A Daily Analysis (April 20, 2020)
Apr 21Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. In an effort to raise awareness about these figures and understand how our changes in behavior – including business closures, school closures, and sheltering in place for non-essential workers – are impacting infection rates,…
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Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID Cases – A Daily Analysis (April 15, 2020)
Apr 15Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. In an effort to raise awareness about these figures and understand how our changes in behavior – including business closures, school closures, and sheltering in place for non-essential workers – are impacting infection rates,…
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Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID Cases – A Daily Analysis (April 14, 2020)
Apr 14Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. In an effort to raise awareness about these figures and understand how our changes in behavior – including business closures, school closures, and sheltering in place for non-essential workers – are impacting infection rates,…
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Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID Cases – A Daily Analysis (April 13, 2020)
Apr 13Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. In an effort to raise awareness about these figures and understand how our changes in behavior – including business closures, school closures, and sheltering in place for non-essential workers – are impacting infection rates,…
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We Failed to Act on Pandemic Preparedness Before. Let’s not Make that Mistake Again. (LinkedIn)
Apr 13LinkedIn | As the COVID-19 pandemic surge peaks and we begin to think about reopening our economy, our policy makers should immediately address how to prepare for the next one, for it is inevitable that a next one will occur. I share with you my exact words from an address I gave at the National…
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Could Congress Vote by Zoom? (Forbes)
Apr 13FORBES | The COVID-19 pandemic has rocketed the American workforce into the virtual space. Nearly any worker who can is working from home. Company boards are holding meetings and voting virtually. Physicians are seeing patients through telehealth. What hasn’t changed? The United States Congress. Members must still travel to the floor of their Chamber to cast their vote in person,…
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Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID Cases – A Daily Analysis (April 10 & 11, 2020)
Apr 11Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. In an effort to raise awareness about these figures and understand how our changes in behavior – including business closures, school closures, and sheltering in place for non-essential workers – are impacting infection rates,…
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Our National Moment: How We Can Put Our Healthcare Heroes First (Forbes)
Apr 8FORBES | As a transplant surgeon for years, we were forced to routinely make tough life and death decisions. With too few available donor hearts (limited supply) for the overwhelming number of patients waiting for a transplant (huge demand), allocation of the limited vital resource, the donor heart, left many to die within months while waiting for…
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Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID Cases – A Daily Analysis (April 2, 2020)
Apr 3Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. In an effort to raise awareness about these figures and understand how our changes in behavior – including business closures, school closures, and sheltering in place for non-essential workers – are impacting infection rates,…
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Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID Cases – A Daily Analysis (March 30, 2020)
Mar 31Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. In an effort to raise awareness about these figures and understand how our changes in behavior – including business closures, school closures, and sheltering in place for non-essential workers – are impacting infection rates,…
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Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID Cases – A Daily Analysis (March 27, 2020)
Mar 28Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. In an effort to raise awareness about these figures and understand how our changes in behavior – including business closures, school closures, and sheltering in place for non-essential workers – are impacting infection rates,…
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Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID-19 Cases – A Daily Analysis (March 26, 2020)
Mar 27Every day, the Tennessee Department of Health releases figures tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each county and statewide. In an effort to raise awareness about these figures and understand how our changes in behavior – including business closures, school closures, and sheltering in place for non-essential workers – are impacting infection rates,…
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What We Can Learn from Tennessee’s Confirmed COVID-19 Cases – A Daily Analysis
Mar 25With the coronavirus pandemic, we are in unprecedented times, with governments having to use incomplete and rapidly evolving information to determine how to best keep their people safe as well as keep local economies afloat. I want to commend Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee Department of Health for the steps they have taken to…
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We May Have 72 Hours To Address The COVID-19 Protective Equipment Shortage (FORBES)
Mar 20FORBES | I write today to describe an urgent issue that must be addressed by federal leadership in the next 72 hours. In conversations this week with two highly respected leaders representing hospitals in different parts of the country, I received the same vital message: we must organize a national effort to develop personal protective…
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America’s public health infrastructure needs consistent funding (Roll Call)
Mar 14Roll Call | As our nation confronts the COVID-19 pandemic, we have once again become aware of the critical importance of our state and local health departments. They are the backbone of our nation’s response system. This is not a new story: Just in this century, we have confronted major infectious disease outbreaks — SARS, H1N1,…
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Trump’s call to end HIV is a worthy mission both at home and abroad (CNN)
Feb 15CNN | In his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump brought attention to a disease that has almost disappeared from the headlines: HIV/AIDS. He pledged to end the epidemic in the United States by 2030, setting commendable, ambitious goals for domestic prevention and treatment efforts. I support President Trump’s pledged investment in domestic…
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The Tax Credit that is History in the Re-Making (Forbes)
Feb 4FORBES | At a time when our nation feels like it may be torn apart with increasing partisanship and clash of cultures, there is something all Americans share in common. We all take pride in our communities, our hometowns, the places where we were born and the places where we’ve put down roots. Part of…
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Why Tennessee should join 35 other states in adopting a historic tax credit (Tennessean)
Jan 24THE TENNESSEAN | Earlier this week, Gov. Bill Lee made the commendable decision to direct all state agencies to find ways to improve how they serve rural Tennessee regions. “My administration will place a high emphasis on the development and success of our rural areas,” Governor Lee said in announcing his first executive order. I strongly…
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What Andy Samberg And Sandra Oh Got Right At The Golden Globes: Vaccines Are Worth Celebrating! (Forbes)
Jan 16FORBES | Last week at the Golden Globes, hosts Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh made headlines as they tried to give out free flu shots to celebrities in the audience. This surprise stunt showed famous stars looking shocked and nervous as needle-wielding nurses descended from the stage to offer vaccinations. Samberg joked, “If you are an…
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Has Childhood Obesity Become A National Security Threat? (Forbes)
Dec 19FORBES | As a physician and lawmaker, I have long argued that federal global health aid improves America’s standing in the world and makes us safer by steadying unstable nations. Countries with healthy workforces have improved economic outputs, stronger family units, and are less likely to become havens for terrorists. But what many may not…
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Sen. Frist on Sen. Alexander’s Decision Not to Run in 2020
Dec 17Lamar Alexander’s unparalleled intellect, his unwavering commitment to commonsense Tennessee values, combined with his extraordinary willingness to do the hard work (he does more in a day than most do in a week!) has led to countless achievements that have improved our lives and dramatically enhanced our well-being. Senator Alexander has been a tireless servant…
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15 Years Later: How Well Are We Doing Addressing AIDS (Forbes)
Dec 1FORBES | This World AIDS Day, we celebrate the astounding progress made in the past 15 years! Thanks to PEPFAR— the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief—14.6 million people living with HIV (59%) have access to antiretroviral therapy. More than 2.4 million babies have been born HIV-free. Countless lives have been saved. This progress…
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Reading The Healthcare Tea Leaves In The 2018 Midterm Elections (Forbes)
Nov 29FORBES | The November elections left us with a lot to digest—it wasn’t the decisive “blue wave” that some were predicting, but the tea leaves did tell us some interesting things about what voters believe and value, particularly when it comes to healthcare. Interestingly, pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies found a notable phenomenon…
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The Latest In Blockchain In Healthcare: Top Takeaways From Distributed Health (Forbes)
Nov 13FORBES | Last week I had the honor of kicking off the third annual Distributed Health conference in Nashville, which brought together leaders in healthcare as well as blockchain innovators from across the nation. All were united by the shared belief that blockchain has transformative potential for health and healthcare, with changes already underway. Blockchain…
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The Future Of Healthcare Innovation And Why Government Matters (Forbes)
Nov 6FORBES | Why do politics matter to health? Because government, when focused, can do incredible things to move our health forward. Here are just two examples that I was directly involved with while in the United States Senate. Read more at Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/billfrist/2018/11/06/the-future-of-healthcare-innovation-and-why-government-matters/#f00d712192d2
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Taking Root in Nashville – A New Collaborative to Green our Streets and Improve our Health
Oct 3Clean air, cooler streets, safer neighborhoods, improved health – these are all things we’d like for our city of Nashville. What do they all share in common? They are all goals that can be achieved in part through a larger urban tree canopy – and all are central to the mission of our new collaborative…
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