The city is quietly shuttering its Bureau of Health Equity after less than two years, according to sources familiar with the situation and correspondence reviewed by the Scene.
A report from earlier this year lists seven staff members working under director Stephanie Kang, who left her executive-level position in June. In mid-August, employees were told their work would be absorbed into the Metro Health Department’s human resources division. Metro Health director Gill Wright and deputy director Melva Black corresponded with employees at different points in the process explaining the restructuring. According to sources and a Metro job posting, the department will replace Kang with a “Director for the Bureau of People and Culture,” a “newly redefined position” responsible for addressing HR issues.
Employees at the Bureau of Health Equity have, up to this point, been responsible for work identifying and addressing public health inequities in Nashville based on identity markers like race, gender and class. A report from earlier this year details bureau activities like translating health information across languages and delivering health services to unhoused people. The bureau has not been involved in managing internal human resources matters up to this point.
“This restructuring is forward thinking and reflects other contemporary public health organization designs,” wrote Wright to staff on Thursday, Aug. 16. “This change also establishes enhanced support for our staff ensuring Health Equity is aligned with HR to build MPHD’s culture of inclusion and a sense of belonging.”
Those familiar with the restructuring cite an ambient chilling effect from state-level scrutiny on public initiatives that center race or gender identity. No one consulted for this story named any specific threat from the state to Metro’s health equity work. Others mention the recent departure of Kang, who has led the department since its inception, and executive leadership’s weak grasp of health equity in explaining the decision to restructure.
"The important work of the Bureau of Health Equity will continue, under a new name," Health Department spokesperson Matthew Peters tells the Scene in an email. "The bureau will be renamed the Bureau of People and Culture. The name is reflective of other contemporary public health organization designs and does a better job of encompassing more of the work being done by the bureau, both internally and externally."
Major changes in the organizational structure of the Metro Health Department will likely be reviewed in coming months by a newly elected Metro Council.
