CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee, April 30 -- The Alliance Defending Freedom issued the following news release: The city of Chattanooga has dropped its unconstitutional ban on drive-in church services, prompting Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing an area church to voluntarily dismiss a federal lawsuit Wednesday that challenged the ban. The city's stay-at-home order did not originally ban drive-in churches, but Mayor Andrew Berke abruptly announced right before Easter that his order specifi  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 2 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following news: Marburg is a distant, more lethal cousin of the RNA virus that causes COVID-19. An outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fever in Angola in 2004-2005 killed 90% of the approximately 250 people it infected. Now researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and Vanderbilt University Medical Center led by Alexander Bukreyev, PhD, and James Crowe, MD, have isolated non-neutralizing monoclo  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 30 -- Beryl Institute issued the following news release: The Beryl Institute announces the publication of Volume 7, Issue 1 of Patient Experience Journal (PXJ), an international, open access, peer-reviewed journal focused on research and proven practices around understanding and improving patient experience. Read in over 200 countries and territories, PXJ has almost 600,000 article downloads and is committed to disseminating rigorous knowledge and expanding the globa  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 2 -- The Campaign Legal Center issued the following news release: The state of Tennessee imposes strict limits on eligibility for voting absentee and even uses criminal penalties to deter people from assisting voters with obtaining absentee ballots. In the midst of a global pandemic, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers' Committee) filed a lawsuit on behalf of two qualified voters and organizations whose many member  more

NEW YORK, April 27 -- The Center for Reproductive Rights issued the following news release on April 25: Last night, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a preliminary injunction granted by a lower court, allowing abortion clinics in Tennessee to continue providing time-sensitive abortion procedures during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The decision comes after Gov. Bill Lee issued a state order on April 8 banning all abortion services other than medication abortions (which involve ta  more

WASHINGTON, May 2 -- The Conference of State Bank Supervisors issued the following news release: The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) announced the re-election of Greg Gonzales by the State Liaison Committee (SLC) as SLC Chairman. The SLC Chairman's one-year term runs from May 1 until April 30 of the following year. The SLC can re-elect the chairman for additional terms. Gonzales has been a member of the SLC since February 2016. Gonzales is the 18th commissioner of th  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 2 -- The American Civil Liberties Union, a 501(c)3 non-profit that works to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the U.S., issued the following news release on May 1: A Federal Court issued an order preliminarily blocking a zoning ordinance passed by the city of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee that bans the provision of procedural abortion care within the city limits. The ruling comes in a case brought by the America  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 2 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following news: Early data on outcomes for cancer patients with COVID-19 will be released during the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program by a multi-institutional consortium. The COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) was formed to rapidly collect data as part of an effort to understand the unique effects the coronavirus has on this vulnerable population. Participants include members of the European Society of Medical   more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 2 -- The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law issued the following news release: The state of Tennessee imposes strict limits on eligibility for voting absentee and uses criminal penalties to deter people from assisting voters with obtaining absentee ballots. In the midst of a global pandemic, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the Campaign Legal Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of two individual voters and organizations whose many members a  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, April 29 -- The National Cotton Council issued the following news release: The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol has been added to Textile Exchange's list of preferred fibers and materials. The Trust Protocol will now be one of 36 fibers and materials that over 170 participating brands and retailers can select from as part of Textile Exchange's Material Change Index program. Textile Exchange defines a preferred fiber or material as one which results in improved environmental and/  more

OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, May 2 -- New Phytologist, a journal that says it features plant science and its applications, published research articles, including the following topics, in Part 1 of its June 2020 edition: * Origin and domestication of Cucurbitaceae crops: insights from phylogenies, genomics and archaeology * Rapid evolution in plant-microbe interactions - an evolutionary genomics perspective * Chromosome restructuring among hybridizing wild wheats Research: * A theory of plant func  more

OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, April 30 -- The Oak Ridge Associated Universities issued the following news release: Amy Buchanan encourages students at Union Grove Elementary School to imagine a world of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) beyond the limitations of the classroom; but ORAU wanted to fix that. On Wednesday, ORAU surprised Buchanan at her house with $25,000 for new classroom technology, hoping students will now get to explore, touch and see the STEM classroom they've imagined.  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 28 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following news: Each year, the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine graduating fourth-year class honors one faculty member with the Shovel Award in recognition of the exceptionally meaningful impact he or she has had on their medical education. The class typically presents the award in person at the Cadaver Ball, but this year, due to social distancing measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the   more

BRENTWOOD, Tennessee, April 29 -- Psycho-Oncology, a journal that says it features cancer and AIDS-related tumors, epidemiology, palliative and supportive care, psychiatry, psychology, sociology and nursing from the American Psychosocial Oncology Society and British Psycho-Oncology Society, published research articles, including the following topics, in its April 2020 edition: * Digital interventions to facilitate patient-provider communication in cancer care: A systematic review * The relatio  more

WASHINGTON, April 30 -- The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press issued the following news: Attorneys at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance for violating the state's Open Meetings Act when it held a secret vote by email. The suit -- filed on behalf of a coalition of Tennessee news media and open government organizations -- is the first brought as part of the Reporters Committee's Local Legal Initiative, la  more

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee, April 30 -- The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy issued the following news release: This week, David Freeman, former chair of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board of Directors, joins the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) as a Senior Energy Advisor. Freeman is a renowned expert on clean energy, energy efficiency, and the risks of nuclear power with more than four decades of experience directing federal, regional, and local energy policies. On Wednesday, Apr  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 29 -- The Tennessee Bar Association issued the following news: TBA President Sarah Sheppeard announced that the 2020 TBA Annual Convention, originally scheduled to take place in-person in Knoxville, is being converted to a virtual event. The conference will take place during the week of June 15 and will include programming, networking opportunities and a virtual Lawyers Luncheon featuring award presentations and the passing of the gavel to President-elect Michelle G  more

BRENTWOOD, Tennessee, April 28 -- The Tennessee Hospital Association issued the following news: As response to the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up in early- and mid-March, hospitals began following guidance to reduce elective procedures. Soon after, Governor Bill Lee's Executive Order (EO) 18 was issued on March 23 to suspend all elective procedures in the state to conserve personal protective equipment (PPE), preserve hospital inpatient capacity and promote social distancing to reduce risk for tra  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 29 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following news: A preliminary look at data from hospitalized adults diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a randomized, controlled clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the investigational antiviral remdesivir is showing promising results. The international trial, which includes investigators from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, is showing that patients who received remdesivi  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 2 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following news: Vanderbilt University Medical Center is switching to hydrogen peroxide vapor for sterilization of the white bulbous N95 facemask-respirators used by health care workers to protect against COVID-19. N95s are typically discarded after a single use but supply shortages have prompted hospitals around the U.S. to adopt sterilization procedures that allow reuse. On April 10, for sterilization of N95s, the  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 2 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following news: The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recently announced that all Vanderbilt Medical Group (VMG) adult primary care practices have received NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on coordinated care with the goal of improving outcomes. The NCQA is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that seeks to   more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 28 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following news: In the early evening hours of April 23, Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital (VWCH) completed most of its transition to VUMC's clinical and information technology (IT) systems. The change represented a critical step in fully integrating the hospital into the Vanderbilt family. The transition date of April 23 was established in late 2019, and teams were moving forward as planned when COVID-19 demanded  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 2 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following news: Cystic fibrosis (CF), a disease caused by a spectrum of variants in the CFTR gene, is one of the most common Mendelian diseases. CF continues to pose diagnostic challenges because of the variability in its clinical manifestations. Xue Zhong, PhD, Nancy Cox, PhD, and colleagues now describe a novel approach to identify clinical diagnoses (phenotypes) that are consistent with CF disease in electronic h  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 2 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following news: A new clinic opening at Vanderbilt University Medical Center will help doctors and patients choose the best drugs for their medical conditions based on the patients' unique genetic makeup. The Genomics and Therapeutics Clinic initially will accept referrals from VUMC providers and patients, and will schedule telemedicine visits every other Thursday morning beginning May 7. After the COVID-19 pandemic  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 2 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following news: Howard Price has a decades-old green notebook he keeps in his office at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and when a shortage of a critical laboratory supply nearly brought testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to a halt at the Medical Center, the notebook's contents quickly became invaluable. "We ran out of viral transport media -- the liquid used to put the swabs in when they'  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 2 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following news: Lungs are the least-used solid organ for transplant because 80% of donor lungs are too damaged to be considered for transplantation. But a new technique demonstrated by Matthew Bacchetta, MD, MBA, associate professor of Thoracic Surgery, shows the potential to increase the supply of donor lungs by rehabilitating those organs previously considered too damaged for transplant. That may mean the differenc  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 2 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following news: Out-of-pocket costs are associated with patient satisfaction after nasal breathing surgery, a new study by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers revealed. The study, published in JAMA Open Network, surveyed more than 250 patients who underwent surgery for nasal obstruction both before and after their surgery to identify factors associated with their overall satisfaction. The survey utiliz  more