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A resolution identifying the skills and qualities needed for Nashville's next Director of the Metro Public Health Department.
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WHEREAS, the mission of Metropolitan Public Health Department ("MPHD") is to protect, improve, and sustain the health and well-being of all people in Nashville and Davidson County; and
WHEREAS, Section 10.103 of the Metropolitan Charter requires the Metropolitan Board of Health to hire the Director of Health and oversee his or her direction of MPHD; and
WHEREAS, Section 10.105 of the Metropolitan Charter requires the Metropolitan Board of Health to establish the qualifications for the Director of Health, subject to approval by the Metro Director of Human Resources; and
WHEREAS, like other large US cities, Metro Nashville is experiencing the impacts of both opioids and firearm violence, two issues that have received federal public health declarations; and
WHEREAS, since 2021, over 700 people have died annually by drug overdoses in Nashville and Davidson County; and
WHEREAS, since 2022, 228 people have been fatally shot in Nashville and Davidson County, including six students, faculty, and staff members during the March 2023 Covenant School shooting; and
WHEREAS, in order to effectively address the crisis of community violence, MPHD relies on the important work of partner organizations including Raphah Institute, The F.I.N.D Design, Why We Can't Wait, as well as all member organizations of "The Village", a community of over 150 grassroots non-profit organizations actively working to improve the lives of residents through education, economic opportunity, housing, restorative justice, and health care; and
WHEREAS, in addition to issues like opioids and gun violence that have federal public health designations, on September 17, 2024, the Metropolitan Council adopted a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis in Nashville and Davidson County; and
WHEREAS, Metro Nashville's complex problems require innovative dat...
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