With large numbers of candidates vying for a small number of spots in U.S. medical schools, some Memphians are earning their medical degrees in the Caribbean. 

When Church Health first offered services on Sept. 1, 1987, it operated out of a single Midtown bungalow. It now serves more than 60,000 patients and occupies a massive space in Crosstown Concourse.

Related story:

Morris: Church Health continues to reflect the good in Memphis

Past speakers have included former first lady Laura Bush, journalist Tom Brokaw, Queen Noor of Jordan, and Memphis native and actress Kathy Bates.

The U.S. on Wednesday authorized its first update to COVID-19 vaccines, booster doses that target today’s most common Omicron strain. Shots could begin within days.

The next move for county funding toward a new Regional One Health center in the Medical District is an appointed committee to come up with recommendations on what is likely to be some kind of bond financing.

Related story:

Five County Commissioners attend last meeting after hitting term limit

After a high-profile surgeon departed Methodist University Hospital’s Transplant Institute — and the live donor liver program is paused — a Memphis musician’s transplant is caught in the middle. 

Dr. Michelle Taylor, on “Behind The Headlines,” talks about the the local health department’s relationship with state health officials after the Tennessee General Assembly stripped the local health department of its autonomy. 

As of Friday, Aug. 12, 171 Shelby County residents had been vaccinated against monkeypox. 

The Memphis VA Healthcare System, which provides health care for military veterans in a three-state region, marked its centennial Monday at the Memphis VA Medical Center. 

“If you think abortion access going away does not affect you, you’re going to be mistaken, because this falls out into all areas of medicine,” said a Tennessee OB-GYN.

More than a third of Tennessee counties are maternity-care deserts, meaning there are no hospitals providing obstetric care, no birth centers, no OB-GYNs and no certified nurse midwives, putting pregnant women in a possibly risky situation. 

A new report examines alarming trends in Tennessee’s recent maternal death rates. And deems that more than 3 out of 4 of those deaths were preventable.

The esteemed transplant surgeon who made headlines for performing Steve Jobs’ liver transplant is no longer leading the transplant institute named for him. 

The capital initiative would entail replacing the aging hospital with a contemporary facility, but the financing for the project drew concerns from Shelby County Commissioners yesterday. 

Nesbit, Mississippi resident John Butler, who did not have a gym membership before, now goes every day, part of what may be his lifelong work to rebuild the 85% muscle mass he lost in his arms and chest.

A delegation from the Association of British HealthTech Industries just completed a two-day tour of Memphis to establish stronger relationships with local health care organizations.

“The difference is that we know about this infection, it’s been here since 1950,” said an infectious disease expert. “We’re so far ahead with monkeypox, compared to where we were with COVID. But it makes it just truly a different type of problem altogether.”

Shelby County reported its first confirmed case of monkeypox on Monday, July 25, marking the 18th reported case in Tennessee. 

David Williams is a longtime dynamo in the city’s nonprofit sphere with a career dating back to the 1970s. At 68, he persists in his personal mission of serving nonprofits that serve disadvantaged populations in Memphis. 

A former construction worker with a fondness for Shakespeare, Vincent Miller kneads away University Club clients’ stress while filling his own need for tranquility.

“There is a population in Lake and Lauderdale counties who have poorer health care outcomes due to difficulty accessing care,” said University of Tennessee Health Science Center Assistant Professor Diana Dedmond.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has committed a total of $12.9 billion to accelerate research and treatment for children around the world with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.

The new three-story physicians building will improve cancer care, consolidating two existing Southaven locations. 

Shelby County Commissioner Van Turner said Regional One Health saved his life following a horrific car wreck. Before he terms out, he hopes to see progress in the ambitious plan to replace the aging hospital buildings. 

So far, 354 children in the 6-months to 5-years age group have been vaccinated for COVID-19 in Shelby County — a figure that includes vaccinations from both public and private healthcare practitioners.