Nashville providers plan to coordinate indigent health care

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nashville health care providers are proposing a new indigent care system that they hope will be a model for the nation.

The proposal envisions a seamless network of care by providers across the city including Nashville General Hospital, the major hospital systems, the health department and community clinics.

The proposal is a response to an earlier plan to close Nashville General’s inpatient services. The city’s public hospital is Nashville’s safety net provider and the primary teaching hospital for Meharry Medical College.

Meharry President and CEO Dr. James Hildreth said the stakeholder team believes Nashville is the first city in the nation to get all its health care providers to work together on indigent care.

Meharry would manage the program to track patients’ care regardless of where they are treated.