Blake Farmer

James Perkinson of Greenbriar, Tenn., underwent ECMO for nearly two months while he was sedated. He says without the "miracle" therapy, he "wouldn't be here right now."

Even with risky survival rate, shortages of ECMO machines cost lives, study finds

Blake Farmer

For COVID patients, ECMO is a last-ditch respiratory treatment in which only about half survive. Yet a new small study suggests many lives would still have been saved if there had been more machines.

In this June 8, 2021, photo provided by the The Ohio Channel, Dr. Sherri Tenpenny speaks at a Ohio House Health Committee in Columbus, Ohio. The Cleveland-based osteopathic doctor testified that COVID-19 vaccines cause magnetism. "They can put a key on their forehead; it sticks," said Tenpenny.

As state medical boards try to stamp out COVID misinformation, some in GOP push back

Blake Farmer

State medical boards have an obligation to investigate complaints about doctors, such as those who spread COVIC misinformation. But in Tennessee and other states, lawmakers are saying 'not so fast'

Nurse Sara Dean of Mount Juliet, Tenn., attends her daughter Harper's gymnastics practice. Dean spent nearly two years travelling the country as a nurse, gaining a much higher salary than she could at home.

For travel nurses, jobs at home can't come close to pay they get on the road

Blake Farmer

The pandemic pay for traveling nurses was too good to pass up for many RNs. But some are ready to settle down at home, and they're finding full-time jobs aren't keeping up with salary increases.

André Lee (left), administrator and cofounder of Heart and Soul Hospice, stands with Keisha Mason, director of nursing, in front of their office building in Nashville, Tenn., on Dec. 20, 2021.

Black-owned hospice seeks to bring greater ease in dying to Black families

Blake Farmer

Black patients and their families are less likely to sign up for end-of-life comfort care. To reach them, investors are starting hospice agencies run by people who look like the patients they serve.

What our family learned from our post-Thanksgiving coronavirus outbreak

Blake Farmer

A reporter's experience with COVID in his young family after a gathering of relatives could help you navigate the Christmas holidays.

Jason Dean received six stitches and a tetanus shot after he cut his knee in May. In August, his wife, DeeAnn, feared going to the same emergency room where he was treated, delaying her diagnosis of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

The ER charged him $6,589.77 for 6 stitches, a cost that led his wife to avoid the ER

Blake Farmer

With few options for health care in their rural community, a Tennessee couple's experience with one outrageous bill could have led to a deadly delay when they needed help the most.

A box and container of ivermectin arranged in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Americans against taking ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug, as treatment or prevention against Covid-19.

As constituents clamor for ivermectin, Republican politicians embrace their cause

Blake Farmer

Hospitals and doctors are facing more demands for ivermectin as a Covid-19 treatment, despite no proof it works. In some Republican-dominated states, lawmakers and attorney generals are weighing in.

Hospitals around the U.S., including large academic medical centers like Vanderbilt University's in Nashville, Tenn., have been forced to rely on traveling nurses to keep their intensive care units fully staffed. The demand for travel nurses has driven up their hourly rates, which then motivates more staff nurses to leave in pursuit of a traveling gig.

Worn-out nurses hit the road for better pay, stressing hospital budgets — and morale

Blake Farmer

In areas overwhelmed by COVID cases, hospitals must rely on traveling nurses to operate ICUs. Hospitals pay a premium for that temporary help, while also struggling to keep their staff nurses happy.

Experts Fear Partisan Disputes Over Vaccination In Tennessee Will Drive Skeptics Away

Blake Farmer

Republican legislators in Tennessee pushed to limit marketing COVID-19 vaccines to youth, and to restrict access. Some doctors worry it will have a chilling effect on vaccinations.

Hartsville resident Rick Bradley, 62, received his first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the end of March at the local Walgreens, saying "this is not a summer cold or a conspiracy." He says some of his neighbors have become so used to COVID-19, that getting vaccinated has fallen off the priority list.

'It's Not A Never Thing' — White, Rural Southerners Hesitant To Get COVID Vaccine

Blake Farmer

A majority of white, rural conservatives in Tennessee are open to getting the vaccine at some point, but at least 45% won't consider it. Rates in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi are also lagging.

Students stand for the Pledge of Allegiance as they return to in-person learning at St. Anthony Catholic High School in California on March 24. Masks and physical distancing are proving to have some major public health benefits, keeping people from getting all kinds of illnesses, not just COVID-19. But it's unclear whether the strict protocols would be worth the drawbacks in the long run.

Should Masking Last Beyond The Pandemic? Flu And Colds Are Down, Spurring A Debate

Blake Farmer

Hospitalizations are down 62% for childhood respiratory illnesses, a study shows. Masking and physical distancing are keeping a variety of viruses in check, but will these behaviors last?

Patients at a community health center in Nashville wait for their vaccine appointment. The Biden administration has announced that federally-funded community health centers around the country will start getting direct shipments of the vaccine.

Biden Administration Recruits Community Clinics To Help Solve Vaccine Inequities

Blake Farmer

Black Americans are getting vaccinated at lower rates than whites. A new push to send vaccines to community health centers is intended to help quickly bridge that gap.