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Posted on March 9, 2012

NASHVILLE, TN, March 8, 2012 – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam’s Health and Wellness Task Force will tackle obesity, the single largest contributor to chronic disease in our state. Speaking to the Tennessee Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Society at the Tennessee Hospital Association (THA), the governor announced the task force would chart a course for promoting and supporting healthy lifestyles across Tennessee, with the goal of ultimately decreasing rates of chronic illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes.

“Tennessee’s status in the America’s Health Rankings report has recently moved in a positive direction – from 42nd to 39th in the overall rankings – but we still have some critical areas in which we have work to do,” Haslam said. “We as a state must encourage healthy behaviors and help make available healthy foods and safe, accessible places to exercise, and I look forward to working with the task force in this effort.”

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam announced today to the Tennessee Chief Medical Officer Society at THA that his Health and Wellness Task Force would target obesity, the single largest contributor to chronic disease in the state. Tennessee is presently ranked 39th in America’s Health Rankings.

The governor’s 16-member Health and Wellness Task Force is chaired by University of Tennessee Medical Center Chief Medical Officer John Lacey, MD, Knoxville, and has been asked to partner with and fortify efforts already underway across the state.

“We believe every business, school, local government, hospital and every Tennessean has a stake in meeting the challenge of obesity,” Lacey said. “We appreciate the governor’s leadership on health and wellness issues as we work to find ways to fight obesity across Tennessee.”

“We applaud and support Gov. Haslam’s work toward a healthier state by focusing on obesity, a largely preventable health risk,” said William Thompson, MD, chief medical officer of Nashville’s Baptist Hospital and a member of the Tennessee Hospital Association board of directors.

THA, founded in 1938, serves as an advocate for hospitals, health systems, home health agencies and other healthcare organizations and the patients they serve. The Tennessee CMO Society was organized in 2011 and is an allied affiliate of THA. The association offers products and services through THA Solutions Group, Inc., and the Tennessee Hospital Education and Research Foundation, Inc., its nonprofit education program.

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