Two weeks ago, Dorothy Caplenor tried to evade tendrils of cigarette smoke at a Friday night Nightfall concert -- even as she counted dozens of children and other pregnant women in the hazy air.

Tennessee ranks third lowest nationally in placing children in the foster system with other family members, with only 8 percent of foster children placed with a relative, according to a national report released Wednesday.

The two public hospitals in the Chattanooga area have lost more than $33.5 million since July 1, with both reporting additional losses this week.

Erlanger Health System had its second-best month in eight months in April and may break even in May, after nearly a year of dismal reports, officials said Monday evening.

In the last 10 years, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama have made huge strides in how many low-income children receive dental services

Erlanger Health System had its second-best month in eight months in April and may break even in May, after nearly a year of dismal reports, officials said Monday evening.

Tennessee's dental health can be measured in so many ways:

About 190 Memorial Health Care System employees will begin working for Conifer Health Solutions as part of a 10-year agreement for Conifer to take over billing and collection services at the hospital.

The business community "let down" the school system and "disappointed" school board members by not adequately funding a science, technology, engineering and math school in Hamilton County, board members said Thursday evening during their monthly meeting.

With the federal health care reform law awaiting a Supreme Court decision due by the end of June, Tennessee officials continue to hedge their bets as they move to implement a key part of the law.

Everything comes in birth order in the Rehring family.

Former Arkansas governor and Fox News host Mike Huckabee will speak at a Chattanooga-area wellness event next month, talking about how he lost 110 pounds and ran four marathons after he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

A new onsite method of dealing with injured during a disaster -- implemented after last year's tornadoes -- proved to be effective during the March tornadoes, according to Hamilton County's EMS director.

Dan Cowart knows what it's like to not be able to pay his medical bills or to skip his medication because he doesn't have money for the prescriptions.

Erlanger officials announced the appointment of an interim chief medical officer Monday, after the public hospital's former chief medical officer tendered his resignation on Friday.

Although Tennessee frequently ranks in the bottom tier of health measurements, a new report praises the state for dramatically reducing hospital-associated infection rates.

State and federal prosecutors have declined to pursue a whistle-blower lawsuit that says Erlanger Health System made false Medicare claims, a second such decision within the last month.

Former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist used to carry a handful of organ-donor cards with him, hoping that by passing them out, he might get a few people to donate their organs.

Call it the invasion of the creepy, crawly -- and potentially lethal -- monsters.

Last year, the sound of wailing sirens and people crying for help filled the air as the smell of leaking gas drifted through town. A year later, savory barbecue wafted down the street and kids laughed as they zipped down a bouncy slide.

A Doppler weather radar was taken off-line by the storms of April 27, 2011, making accurate reporting for Chattanooga and the surrounding area more difficult.

Erlanger trustees approved resolutions to establish a search committee for a new CEO and hire a consulting team to address operational improvements during their monthly meeting Thursday evening.

A year ago, Norma Parris crawled out of a bathroom under the spiral staircase of her Ringgold home.

IDER, Ala. — Valley Head. Mentone. Henegar. Ider. Shiloh. The names march north on the DeKalb County map, up and down the hills of the small communities.

Skittles parties. Pharm parties. The names sound harmless, but the teen parties often end with participants in hospital emergency rooms.

Local doctors and child safety advocates say they have seen in increase in teenage prescription drug use including “skittle parties,” where teens dump various prescription drugs into a dish and randomly grab a handful to take.

Erlanger Health System executives want to bring in consultants to help them stem mounting losses at the county's public hospital.

Erlanger Health System lost more than $4 million in March, the greatest single month loss this fiscal year and is on track to for significant losses in April, according to hospital officials.

For months, Jojo Macatiag pinched pennies and squirreled away dollars for the trip of a lifetime — three months off work to travel through Canada and Alaska. It was going to be his final fling before the then-26-year-old came back to Southeast Tennessee to find a career job and settle down.

Their clothes are bloody, ripped and muddy, their socks sucked from their feet. He has a punctured lung and crushed shoulder, her leg is gashed open from knee to ankle. Shards of glass puncture their bodies.

A year later, the ambulance is repaired and back in service, the Ider Rescue Squad cooks meals for volunteers rebuilding homes, and Frank and Brenda Taylor live in a new log cabin.

A tapas bar is heaven for an indecisive foodie.

FORT OGLETHORPE — After several months of improving finances, Erlanger at Hutcheson lost nearly $1.8 million in March, its worst numbers since September.

Tennessee officials trying to fight the epidemic of prescription drug abuse in the state say they hope a bill being considered by lawmakers will crack down on the problem.

Erlanger Health System is laying off 142 workers as part of the third and final phase of an employee reduction plan that will save the hospital $10.5 million to $11 million a year. The layoffs represent about 3 percent of Erlanger's 4,700 employees, according to Chief Administrative Officer Gregg Gentry.

Local lawmakers are working on a bill that temporarily would increase Erlanger's board of trustees from 11 to 12, adding a trustee who would be either a medical doctor appointed by the local state delegation or Erlanger's chief of staff.

Fast-food outlets make up about half the restaurants in Tennessee and Georgia -- and local counties such as Bradley, Catoosa, Murray and Whitfield have even higher percentages, according to a health ranking released today.

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on health care reform — a historic case that will affect millions of Americans, likely have an impact on the fall presidential election and set the direction of American health care in the near future.

Not motivated to lose 15 pounds this year or run two miles today? It may cost you greenbacks. To stem rising health insurance premiums and improve their bottom lines, more and more companies are reaching for financial incentives—money in health savings accounts, gym memberships and even higher premiums—hoping it will motivate their workers to lose weight and lower their blood pressure.

With its mix of outdoor attractions, small city life and affordable living, Chattanooga has become known as a retirement mecca.

Ten minutes a day. That is all it would take to change the American education system and save the country billions of dollars a year, according to fitness guru Robert Sweetgall.

Faster than a speeding bullet, 8.5 minutes, 3,000 mph and 3.5 G's -- it was the ride of a lifetime.

February financial numbers for Erlanger Health System weren't good, but better than expected and the least money the hospital has lost in a month since August.

First rule of grocery shopping -- choose foods with lots of color.

Five or six times a day, Ben Zani grabs his iPhone and types his blood glucose levels into an application. After every meal, he inputs what he has eaten and the app tells him how much insulin he should use.

When it comes to creating technology that easily exchanges patients’ medical information among health care providers, the Model T Ford hasn’t even been invented yet, according to a panel of experts.

Chattanooga ranks in the bottom third of communities nationwide in a health system scorecard looking at medical access, costs, quality and outcomes, but scores better than other areas of Tennessee.

Hamilton County had more tornadoes in the last 10 months than in the previous 60 years. And during a tornado, you are 15 times more likely to die in a mobile home than in a permanent structure.

With more than 50 tornadoes striking this area in the last 10 months, any illusion of safety we ever had has been shattered. These tips from expert sources can help you be prepared if the next one comes your way.

Theresa Lint savors the moments in her kitchen -- drinking coffee with her husband, cooking dinner for her two sons and stopping to pet the family cat sprawled in a chair. It has been a year since she came home from the hospital after viral pneumonia paralyzed her lungs and nearly killed her.