Elizabeth Fite

Now that Chattanooga leaders have identified a site to handle overflow patients from area hospitals, the area's COVID-19 task force is turning its attention to the issue of who will oversee medical care and staffing there.

More than 150 residents and staff at nursing homes in Tennessee have tested positive for COVID-19, but unlike neighboring Georgia, the state will not say how many senior-living facilities have seen infections.

A site in Bradley County that began providing drive-thru COVID-19 testing last weekend is now touting a 10-minute "rapid screen" — but it's not meant to diagnose a COVID-19 infection.

In Tennessee, where 13 hospitals have closed in the last decade (the second most of any state), public transportation is limited, chronic disease and poverty rates are high and physicians are in short supply, technology may be a person's best chance of receiving needed care. Neighboring Georgia and Alabama face similar challenges.

The new local COVID-19 Task Force focused on communication and determining the area's most needed resources during its first meeting Tuesday.

While much of the attention fixates on hospital preparations, primary care providers on the frontlines are already in a full blown war against COVID-19.

Vascular surgeon Chris LeSar is a self-proclaimed tech junkie who says technology isn't just an asset to his medical practice - it's essential.

The world was scrambling to understand and control the Zika virus epidemic when I began covering health care five years ago.

Erlanger Health System has enacted a "temporary expense reduction plan" by furloughing some administrative employees, cutting leadership pay, reducing overtime, suspending vacation accruals, suspending job recruitment for administrative positions and suspending retirement contributions by the company.

Erlanger Health System is in the process of erecting additional triage tents outside its emergency rooms at Erlanger Baroness Hospital, Children's Hospital at Erlanger and Erlanger East Hospital.

The Baylor School's COVID-19 diagnostic testing effort is attracting national media attention.

Local hospitals have repeatedly declined to answer questions about their COVID-19 preparations, so the Times Free Press looked at state hospital data and research to get a glimpse of how ready they are for coronavirus.

Erlanger Health System has secured a $50 million line of credit from First Horizon Bank to help the hospital weather the COVID-19 pandemic.

Individuals who are concerned about the coronavirus can now use a simple online assessment tool developed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Microsoft to get some guidance.

Chattanooga's major hospitals will suspend elective surgeries to preserve vital health resources and save space for an anticipated surge in COVID-19 patients needing hospitalization.

Research scientists Dawn Richards and Elizabeth Forrester watched concern grow as a new coronavirus causing pneumonia-like illness emerged in China, then spread to Europe and the United States.

The Hamilton County Health Department confirmed 8 known cases of the novel coronavirus spreading across the nation and world as of Friday.

Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger has tapped former Erlanger executive Ken Conner to serve on the Erlanger Health System Board of Trustees.

While some things about the new coronavirus are known - such as the risk it poses to older adults - other things remain a mystery, including whether children who have the virus but aren't showing symptoms are helping to fuel the spread.

As of Sunday night, emergency room entrances will be the only entry points to Erlanger Health System hospitals between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.