Health Commissioner John Dreyzehner to Visit Jackson and Madison County

NASHVILLE − Tennessee Health Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH, FACOEM, will join other state and local officials on Wednesday, October 12, to tour the West Regional Health Office and the Jackson-Madison County Health Department in Jackson.

The Department of Health’s West Regional Office is responsible for leadership and management of 19 county health departments: Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, McNairy, Obion, Tipton and Weakley. The office includes a tuberculosis clinic for testing and treatment, an HIV Center of Excellence clinic and one of three state public health laboratories.

The facility also houses the West Tennessee Regional Office Dental Clinic which provides comprehensive dental care for uninsured adults and children. The state-of-the-art clinic is staffed by a full-time dentist and full-time dental assistant. Through a partnership with the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, fourth-year students at the UT Dental School provide services in one-week rotations at this clinic, the only partnership of its kind in Tennessee. Jackson-Madison County General Hospital supports this partnership by providing housing for students serving their rotations. Since opening in March, providers have delivered 2,300 procedures on 174 patients at this facility.

Who:  John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH, FACOEM, Commissioner, Tenn. Department of Health
            Rick Long, Director of Regional and Local Health, Tennessee Department of Health
            Marilyn Barnes, West Regional Director, Tennessee Department of Health
            Shavetta Conner, MD, West Regional Health Officer, Tennessee Department of Health
            Tony R. Emison, MD, Jackson- Madison County Health Director
            Jimmy Harris, Madison County Mayor
            Jerry Gist, Jackson Mayor
            Rep. Jimmy Eldridge, District 73

What:  Visit to West Regional Health Office and Jackson-Madison County Health Department