Nashville has long been known as one of the nation’s health service capitals. But in 2015, while Nashville was growing quickly and gaining national attention as an up-and-coming city to live in, the health of its own residents told a different story.
Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D., a heart and lung transplant surgeon, came face-to-face with alarming data while serving on the board of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Compared with peer cities, Nashville ranked near the bottom on some of the most basic measures of community health.
“Nashville was the health services capital of the nation, yet our own health outcomes ranked near the bottom among peer cities,” said Frist.
That contradiction helped give rise to NashvilleHealth, which began as a charitable fund at Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee in 2015 while working on receiving its own nonprofit status.
With seed funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NashvilleHealth had a place to begin its work of improving community health. CFMT’s fund model provided structure and stewardship while the initiative built partnerships, recruited leadership, and developed its long-term vision. In 2016, NashvilleHealth became an independent nonprofit, carrying forward the work that first took shape through CFMT.
That early chapter is an important part of the story of NashvilleHealth. A fund holds resources, but it can also bring people together when it matters most. Since its inception, NashvilleHealth has served as a convener and catalyst. Rather than working as a direct service provider, the organization brings together public health leaders, health systems, nonprofits, government agencies, universities, businesses, and neighborhood partners to address the conditions that shape health across Nashville.
“NashvilleHealth has demonstrated in our first 10 years that there is a real need in our region for a collaborative architect and amplifier,” said Mark Yancy, NashvilleHealth’s CEO.
One of the clearest examples is the Heart of Nashville Wellness Opportunity Zone, launched in North Nashville’s 37208 ZIP code. In that community, nearly 47% of adults have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, compared with 31% citywide (according to a countywide survey by Belmont Data Collaborative).
Through a partnership with Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center and a network of community partners, NashvilleHealth is helping address hypertension not only as a medical issue, but as a community issue. The effort connects patients with clinical care, transportation, heart-healthy meals, access to green spaces, and other supports that make it easier to manage health outside the doctor’s office.
For patients who had struggled for years to control their blood pressure, the early results are promising: 39% improved by at least one stage by their latest visit. The number of patients in the most severe Stage 2 hypertension category dropped by 26%.
As NashvilleHealth marks its 10th anniversary, Tennessee continues to rank near the bottom nationally for health outcomes, and North Nashville continues to carry a disproportionate burden of hypertension, diabetes, and poor mental health.
Dr. Alex Jahangir, a NashvilleHealth board member, framed the work in direct terms.
“NashvilleHealth was built to change those conditions, not simply manage their consequences,” said Jahangir.
That reality guides the organization into its second decade and reflects the same belief that helped launch the work in the first place. Nashville has the people, partnerships, and motivation to become healthier from within.
NashvilleHealth’s story is a reminder of what can happen when vision is paired with trust, timing, and the right structure. By providing a home for the earliest stage of this work, CFMT helped create the conditions for a lasting civic movement.
Some gifts meet immediate needs. Others grow over time. More than a decade later, NashvilleHealth’s work continues to show how thoughtful giving, trusted structure, and shared commitment can point a city toward a healthier future.
To learn more about Nashville Health, visit https://www.nashvillehealth.org
