Category: News

The numbers of those seeking unemployment due to joblessness during the COVID-19 Pandemic is growing once again at a record pace. In Tennessee, the number of those filing for unemployment has tripled since December 19, 2020.

New unemployment claims between December 13th and December 19th stood at 7,411 filings. After the New Year rang in, there were approximately 22,000 new unemployment claims filed in Tennessee from January 3rd to January 9th of 2021.

Currently, there are 58,945 continued jobless claims in the Volunteer State. This is up 7,000 from the previous week and 13,000 from two weeks prior.

Coincidentally, this recent spike in new claims comes at the same time the federal government has extended federal unemployment benefits that will be in addition to state provided benefits.

In Coffee County, there were 192 new initial claims for the week ending Jan. 9.
The total number of claims since March 15, 2020, has now topped 1 million – at 1,002,908.

By Josh Peterson, news director

Just three days before Christmas, Manchester resident Brandon Imhoff got a scare. The local business owner was having a heart attack.

Imhoff was flown by helicopter to a Murfreesboro hospital where a stint was put in and he was home for Christmas. Thankfully – weather conditions were favorable for a helicopter flight that day. Had they not been, this story may have ended differently.

Why? Because he may not have had access to emergency transportation.

Thunder Radio News has learned that a myriad of obstacles and conditions have led to a major issue in regards to ambulance transports from Coffee County hospitals to Murfreesboro or Nashville hospitals. Basically – transportation is not available.

Coffee County EMS service is battling a staff shortfall that can likely be attributed to poor salaries. Absences due to COVID-19 have only amplified this issue. The insufficient staffing numbers has led to a shortfall in available ambulances which, in the end, renders the Coffee County EMS either unavailable or unwilling to transport patients from Unity Medical Center in Manchester or Tennova Harton in Tullahoma to larger hospitals when the need arises.

“We feel that our function is to take care of people,” explained Coffee County EMS chief Michael Bonner. “We are your first introduction into the healthcare system. If you are already in a hospital and you need to go to Nashville … well you have a doctor, a nurse and medical staff around you. If we don’t have enough ambulances available, we cannot put that transfer call ahead of a 911 call with someone on the side of the road or injured in their home.”

Currently, the Coffee County EMS service has six full time openings in what Bonner called a “constant battle” to remain fully staffed. When fully staffed, the Coffee County EMS service has five staffed ambulances to cover Coffee County. Removing one for a transport to Nashville is a strain on the system. When short-staffed and only four units are available, using one for a transport is basically impossible.

In fact, while on the phone with Thunder Radio News for 15 minutes, four ambulances were paged out for various emergencies.

“If I had one ambulance in Nashville right now, we would literally have no ambulance to cover another emergency here at home,” explained Bonner. “We have some private services in this area but they are usually busy with private, non-emergency transports like dialysis and we can’t rely on that.

“Those private services theoretically are supposed to do discharges, dialysis and non-emergency transfers to Nashville or Murfreesboro,” explained Bonner. “I say theoretically because they are busy, too. They are not able to run Nashville. They have staffing issues too.”

The payscale is lopsided

In Warren County, an advanced EMT (AEMT) starts off making $14.12 an hour at full time. A part time AEMT takes home $13.15. Meanwhile, a full-time paramedic in Warren County takes home $15.91 an hour while part time makes $15.12.

In comparison – a full-time AEMT in Coffee County makes $10.91 – a $3.21 per hour difference. Paramedics in Coffee County make $14.04 an hour to start, a difference of $1.87. Estimates have Warren County’s population about 14,000 fewer residents than Coffee County.

The pay difference seems to help Warren County stay fully staffed. Warren County EMS chief Preston Denney told Thunder Radio News that he is fully staffed with 34 full time and 12 part time employees. There are also no private groups operating in Warren County.

A fully staffed operation for Coffee County would include 35 employees.

Both operations run in the negative and are subsidized by county tax dollars. In Coffee County last year, the ambulance service, after bill collections, was subsidized about $619,000 by tax dollars to break even, according to the budget office. Meanwhile, the Warren County service was subsidized $900,000 by tax dollars there. Coffee County took about 1,500 more calls.

“Franklin County [ambulance] is run by private company,” explained Bonner. “They pay more than we do. St Thomas and Vanderbilt have their own ambulances. We aren’t close enough in pay scale. That gap has gotten too big. And as long as it exists in that size I cannot convince anyone to stay here. Second issue we have is call volume.”

Unity Medical Center: “This is jeopardizing patient health”

Unity Medical Center in Manchester issued a statement about lengthy wait times for patient transport. The hospital said that patients have waited over six hours for a transport out of Unity to a Nashville hospital for care.

“Unity Medical Center is deeply concerned about the situation at the Coffee County EMS, especially in this extraordinarily difficult time in the medical industry. Patients needing emergency transport to other facilities often have excessive wait times before a transport is available. On occasion, patients have waited over six hours for an ambulance to be available for transport. These delays not only jeopardize the patient waiting to be transported to the appropriate facility, but other patients needing care as well since the patient to be transported still ties up medical resources while waiting.

“Unity has met with Coffee County EMS to address concerns about patient safety due to long wait times. After investigation, it appears the problem is simply due to insufficient staffing, not a lack of available equipment. The market for qualified emergency medical technicians (EMT’s) is competitive and Coffee County has not budgeted enough money to hire the needed EMT’s. Unity sympathizes with Coffee County EMS in this regard because it also faces a similar issue. In order to hire and retain qualified personnel, Unity has to compete with hospitals in surrounding areas including Murfreesboro. While Unity recognizes that Coffee County EMS is not at fault for its lack of funding, this situation has created a substantial health risk for the citizens of Coffee County. Unity is proud to work with Coffee County EMS and considers them an essential part of the health care team caring for residents of Coffee County. However, something must be done about this situation quickly in order to continue to have an effective health care network that the citizens of Coffee County deserve.”

Staffing stagnant despite rising call volume

Call volume and need for Coffee County EMS has increased significantly over the past 15 years as the county population grows and Interstate-24 produces accidents. However, staffing levels have remained stagnant.

For example – in 2006 Coffee County EMS took 5,265 calls. At that time, the EMS was operating five units with three stations.

Fast forward to 2020 – EMS answered approximately 9,345 calls (an increase of over 4,000). And while there is an additional station, there are still only five units staffed. And with staffing issues due to pay discrepancies with surrounding competitors and even more shortfalls due to COVID-19, five units aren’t always available. (see table at the bottom of this story)

“Almost every month we are short staffed more than 50% of the month right now,” explained Bonner.

In December, the EMS was short staffed 19 days. In November it was short staffed 17 days. And in October – the EMS was short staffed 22 of the 31 days that month.

“COVID has multiplied staffing shortages and really leaves us unavailable to make these transports,” explained Bonner. “We just can’t afford to have an ambulance gone for three or four hours.”

What is also shocking and goes to the concern expressed by area hospitals – when flight conditions aren’t ideal for a helicopter, the ambulance service is still often unavailable to transport patients.

“We have times when it is raining or a helicopter is on another call – we take those calls but it’s only when we can,” said Bonner. “If I’ve only got four ambulance and they are on a call, well I can’t magically produce another crew.”

And when helicopters are available – they are substantially more expensive to the patient than an ambulance. How much was Imhoff’s helicopter bill he received for his heart attack in December? That came to over $46,000. Thankfully for him, his insurance covered that cost. But that isn’t always the case.

Funding for the county EMS comes from the Coffee County Commission and the Budget & Finance Committee. Thunder Radio spoke with Coffee County Mayor Gary Cordell for this story. He expressed a strong desire to find more funding for not only the ambulance service, but other county personnel that are lagging behind surrounding communities. 

Contact your county commissioner

Not sure how to contact your county commissioner? You can do so by clicking here. 

The table below represents number of calls answered, stations and units staffed for the EMS since the year 2000. 

Mayor responds
Thunder Radio News took these alarming trends to Coffee County Mayor Gary Cordell. The mayor
acknowledges that salaries across the board in the county must be addressed.

“This is a lot like our sheriff’s deputies who are in the same boat (and are underpaid compared to
surrounding agencies),” explained Cordell. “We are starting our budget process here soon. I wish we
could find a million or two. We’ve got to look at some things for our county personnel in terms of
salaries. This is nothing new.

“We’ve got to somehow get more money appropriated with our ambulance service and other areas.”

Tennessee Department of Health is warning Tennesseans to be aware of vaccine scams.

TDH is warning that if you have a grandparent or another loved one who is a senior citizen, to talk to them about not becoming a victim of the following types of scams:

-Do not pay out of pocket for a vaccine

-Do not pay to get early access to the vaccine

-Vaccines are NOT solicited door to door.

-Do not pay to put your name on a priority list

All of the above listed are ways to scam elderly citizens out of money. You are encouraged to report any such suspicious activity to local authorities.

To properly sign up to be on the waiting list for the COVID-19 vaccine in Coffee County, click here. 

Join us at Thunder Radio and Rosalyn Partin of the Manchester H&R Block and congratulate our student of the week – Sabrina Watson

Sabrina is a fifth-grade student at Deerfield Elementary School and Mrs. Jamie Daugherty is her homeroom teacher. Sabrina’s parents are Stephanie Watson and Chris Watson. She enjoys drawing, reading and coloring. When she grows up, Sabrina would like to be a veterinarian. Her favorite subject is ELA.

Rosalyn Partin, owner of the Manchester H&R Block, has been inspired to recognize great kids in our community all year long. H&R Block gives each Student of the Week a gift card, a commemorative plaque, as well as a special letter of recognition. Job well done, Sabrina!

(Pictured, Rosalyn Partin presents the award to Sabrina Watson). 

Tennessee is making great progress in rapidly vaccinating those at highest-risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19. Within four weeks of Tennessee receiving its first doses of COVID-19 vaccine, more than 221,000 people in the state have received vaccinations, and the Tennessee Department of Health is distributing COVID-19 vaccinations as rapidly as supplies are received from the federal government. Tennessee is one of the most successful states in the U.S. at quickly administering vaccine, having administered more than 50 percent of the vaccines received by the state.

Tennessee is now providing COVID-19 vaccinations to residents and staff members in long-term care facilities, a priority population for Phase 1a1 of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan. Residents of long-term care facilities are one of the most vulnerable populations for severe disease and death from COVID-19. In Tennessee, about 68 percent of all COVID-related deaths have occurred in people over the age of 70, and more than 2,000 deaths have occurred among residents of long-term care facilities alone.

In Coffee County, residents can click here to sign up to be on the list to receive a vaccine if they meet phase requirement (including those 75 and older). 

“Tennessee’s COVID-19 vaccination plan prioritizes those most at risk of serious illness, and it is critical we protect our medically fragile senior citizens, who are at greater risk than other adults of needing hospitalization or dying if diagnosed with COVID-19,” said Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey, MD, MBA, FAAP.

Pharmacies, including Walgreens, CVS and some local independent pharmacies are partnering to vaccinate the residents and staff members of long-term care facilities. These efforts began the week of December 28, 2020.

Nursing homes are prioritized first, as their residents require higher levels of medical care, with assisted living facilities and homes for the aged as the next priority. Since December 28, 2020, CVS has vaccinated staff members and residents at 58 Tennessee nursing homes, and Walgreens has vaccinated staff members and residents in at least 125 facilities. Walgreens plans to complete COVID-19 vaccinations at all of their nursing home facilities by January 25.

Tennessee assisted care living facilities and homes for the aged will also begin vaccinating their staff members and residents Jan. 13 through the federal partnership with Walgreens and CVS. While COVID-19 vaccine supplies remain limited, the state is also prioritizing vaccination of Tennesseans aged 75 or older. Additional priority populations will be able to receive COVID-19 vaccinations as quickly as vaccine supplies allow, as outlined in the Tennessee COVID-19 Vaccination Plan.

Availability of vaccines varies by county. Tennessee counties may progress through COVID-19 vaccination phases at different times depending on supplies of vaccines. Tennesseans can learn what phase they will be in for receiving vaccine at https://covid19.tn.gov/covid-19-vaccines/vaccine-phases/.

The State Senate this week re-elected Lt. Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) for a third term as Speaker of the Senate. Senators met at noon on the first organizational day of the 112th General Assembly to elect their speaker. By statute, the Speaker of the Senate holds the title of Lieutenant Governor. McNally has served as Speaker of the Senate and Lieutenant Governor since January 2017.

Also, McNally announced subcommittees for the senate. Senator Janice Bowling, who represents Coffee County in the senate, is on the transportation and energy committes. She is the second vice chair of the government ops committees and is also part of the leadership, assigned as deputy speaker.

After his election, Lt. Governor McNally gave brief remarks addressed to his colleagues and the people of Tennessee.

“As I think back over my time in the General Assembly, I cannot recall a more dedicated group of public servants than we have in the Senate at this moment,” said Lt. Governor McNally. “I am deeply honored to serve with each and every one of you. Serving as Speaker of Senate and Lieutenant Governor has been the honor of my life. I am grateful to you and the people of Tennessee for placing trust in me. I am truly humbled.”

“In speeches over the years, I often talked about preparing our state for Black swan events. In 2020, a bevy of black swans descended on our state. The massive March tornadoes, as well as the ever-present coronavirus, put forth challenges no one could have foreseen,” McNally continued. “Our state has weathered this adversity better than any other state in the union. The reason for this was preparation and leadership. Hopefully, this year will be better. But if it is not, we are ready. Because we are Tennesseans. Let’s get to work.”

ABOUT LT. GOVERNOR RANDY MCNALLY

Tennessee’s fiscal conscience, Lt. Governor Randy McNally is only the second Republican Tennessee Senate Speaker in modern history and the first from Anderson County in nearly 150 years.

As chairman of the Senate’s Finance, Ways and Means Committee for a decade, McNally oversaw the General Assembly’s only constitutionally prescribed duty: the passage of a balance budget. Recognized across the state as a finance and budget expert, McNally’s leadership has been critical in keeping Tennessee budget in balance and its credit “Triple-A” rated.

In addition to his 26 years on the Senate Finance Ways and Means Committee, McNally also served as chairman of the Senate Education Committee in the 102nd and 103rd General Assemblies.

Coffee County’s government offices closed to in-person foot traffic back on Dec. 21 – with the exception of the trustee’s office, which remained open.

Those offices will reopen to the public on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, convenience centers and courts remained open. County offices remained open for business and took appointments during this period.

Tennessee’s Commission on Children and Youth has released its county profiles of child well-being in Tennessee for the year 2020.

At 51st, Coffee County in the bottom half of Tennessee counties in child well-being. Some of the county’s strongest rankings include a high median household income and a relatively low rate of school suspensions.

Coffee County has 25.1 percent of children living in poverty – which ranks 56th out of Tennessee’s 95 counties. Tennessee has an average of one in five children living in poverty. The lowest percentage is in Williamson County (3.6 percent) and the highest percentage is in Lake County (41.2 percent).

The county’s biggest challenges are its above-average rate of babies born at a low birth weight and its relatively low high school graduation rate. Additional strengths include below-average rates of children lacking health insurance and of school suspensions Additional opportunities for improvement include an above-average percentage of children living in poverty and a low rate of 3rd to 8th grade children rated proficient in math on TNReady tests. Policy/Practice/Program Options to Improve Outcomes. Many of these policies have multiple models for delivery, including public-private partnership and non-profit leadership.

* Low birth weight is a persistent and difficult problem, but improvements can occur when care is made available for chronic physical and mental health and substance abuse conditions for women of childbearing age.

*Making high school students aware of the community college and technical school benefits available to them through Tennessee Promise can encourage on-time high school graduation.

* With a high rate of child poverty, improving outreach to those who may qualify to receive SNAP and WIC benefits to be sure they are aware of these services can help ensure basic needs are met.

Additionally, nutrition programs that provide food for school-age children to take home can contribute to food security. Expanding services through Family Resource Centers can also help reach these vulnerable populations.

* Expanding pre-K access and increasing STEM opportunities in elementary and middle schools can help improve 3rd to 8th grade math proficiency

See the full report on Coffee County by clicking here. 

In an email to Coffee County commissioners, other elected officials and county employees, commissioner Todd Crockett has announced that he is vacating his elected seat.

Crockett serves in District 3. He is stepping down effective Feb. 1 after accepting a new job offer. His email reads as follows:

“Fellow commissioners, elected members and county employees this is to inform you I will be stepping down effective Feb 1, 2021. I am taking a position with the Air Force at Warner Robbins AFB in Georgia. It has been an honor serving the people of this county and serving with all of you. I have developed many friendships and I hope to continue through correspondence. I wish all of you the best of luck in your endeavors. God bless. “