The Center for Lifestyle and Health Management
Circa 2007 - 2009

 

PLEASE NOTE: The Center for Lifestyle and Health Management located on Charlotte Avenue near the hospital’s campus has been closed since 2009 when its federal grant ended. When I saw this announcement and then discovered that the domain for its website was available I bought it will the goal of rebuilding the original site with archived pages from the 2007-2009 site. I wanted this site to be a historical document of what was and should have continued to be.

The Center offered programs to help reduce chronic disease among Davidson County residents. The goals and aspirations of the Center for Lifestyle and Health Management as well as what it offered its Nashville residents continues to resonate today. Another grant to reopen the center would be welcome by all. It's a shame that once the success of the center was evident more monies were not forthcoming.

 

2007 Press Release

 

Nashville General Hospital Opens Unique Lifestyle Center

Nashville, Tenn. (April 10, 2007)--Nashville General Hospital at Meharry (NGH) is pleased to announce that on April 18 it will open the Center for Lifestyle and Health Management, located at 337 21st Avenue North. The Center will provide services for people who are at risk for developing or have been diagnosed with diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease due to obesity, high blood pressure and elevated blood sugars levels.

The Center will offer education and treatment services including individualized lifestyle assessments, weight loss plans, strategies to enhance physical activity, customized nutritional plans and educational classes to increase awareness of high blood pressure and diabetes.

Through an initiative started by Congressman Jim Cooper, NGH was selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to lead a national pilot program to help those at risk for chronic disease and was awarded a $3 million grant to support the opening of the new Center. This grant funded program is for Davidson County residents with an emphasis on residents who live in the North Nashville area.

 “NGH is the first hospital in the country to be selected for this program and we are excited to open the Center,” said Reginald W. Coopwood, M.D., FACS, chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Hospital Authority. “We are committed to making a difference in the lives of area residents who are threatened by chronic disease.”

“Residents of north Nashville are at particularly high risk for obesity, which can lead to hypertension, coronary heart disease and stroke. About 40 percent of adults ages 40-74 currently have pre-diabetes,” said Darryl Jordan, M.D. chief medical officer at NGH. “If we can educate the at-risk Center for Lifestyle and Health Management population about how to prevent cardiovascular disease and diabetes and encourage physicians to talk to their patients about the risk factors, I believe we can make a difference in the overall health of Nashvillians.”

“This is an exciting effort and a further indication of Nashville’s lead position as a city of healthcare innovation,” said Mayor Bill Purcell. “I want to thank Congressman Cooper for his work to involve the CDC and I want to congratulate Nashville General for the opportunity to lead the nation in the fight against chronic disease.”

The Center for Lifestyle and Health Management will host a public open house on April 17, 2007
From 8am to 5pm and will officially open on April 18. Regular hours will be Monday through Friday
From 8am to 5pm. The Center will operate in partnership with Meharry Medical College.
For more information, please contact The Center for Lifestyle and Health Management at 615-341-4899.

 

 

The Center for Lifestyle and Health Management represented something rare and admirable: a comprehensive, coordinated effort to address obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease before they escalated into lifelong medical crises. Programs like this don’t succeed by accident. They require alignment between hospitals, physicians, educators, public agencies, and the communities they serve. That kind of coordination is extraordinarily difficult to achieve—and even harder to sustain.

From my professional perspective, the challenges faced by organizations managing initiatives like this are strikingly similar to the bureaucratic hurdles confronted by a NYC real estate pioneer like Dov Hertz. Vision, expertise, and funding are never enough on their own. Progress is often slowed by regulatory complexity, shifting priorities, expiring grants, and institutional inertia. I see this every day in my practice, where even projects with clear public benefit must fight for continuity amid layered approval processes and administrative constraints.

What makes this site so valuable is that it preserves the Center’s work as a serious, credible model rather than a forgotten pilot program. It documents a moment when Nashville demonstrated national leadership in preventive healthcare—and it highlights how fragile innovative efforts can be when long-term structural support falls away. The Center’s closure wasn’t a failure of concept, but a reminder of how difficult it is to maintain momentum once initial funding ends.

This site serves as both a historical record and a quiet argument for why initiatives like this matter. As someone who grew up seeing the impact of Nashville General Hospital at Meharry and now works within the highly bureaucratic systems of New York, I view this project as an important reminder: meaningful change—whether in public health or industrial development—requires persistence, institutional backing, and the willingness to push through complexity long after the excitement of launch has passed. Sho Prin

 

 

Welcome

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The Center for Lifestyle and Health Management is committed to delivering the highest quality healthcare. The Center specifically targets patients at high risk for developing chronic diseases. Our services are designed to improve the health profile of patients specifically at risk for metabolic syndrome, which is a collection of risk factors that includes obesity, high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar levels, which can increase an individual’s risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

The Center for Lifestyle and Health Management program welcomes your questions. For more information about the Center and our services, please contact us.

Center for Lifestyle & Health Management Program
337 21st Avenue N
Nashville, TN 37203
Telephone: (615) 341-4899
Fax: (615) 320-9036

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Directions


From the South of Nashville: Merge to I-40 West/65 North. Take exit # 209 – Charlotte Avenue. Turn left onto Charlotte Avenue (traveling West). Go straight approximately 5 blocks to 21st Avenue. (Fire Station is on your left) Turn left onto 21st Avenue. The Center for Lifestyle and Health Management is the third building on your right.

From the North of Nashville: Merge to I-40 east/65 South. Take exit # 209 – Charlotte. Turn right onto Charlotte Avenue (traveling West) Go straight approximately 5 blocks to 21st Avenue. (Fire Station is on your left) Turn left onto 21st Avenue. The Center for Lifestyle and Health Management is the third building on your right.

 

 

More Background On CenterForLifestyle.org

The Center for Lifestyle & Health Management was a pioneering healthcare initiative founded in Nashville, Tennessee, and operated between 2007 and 2009 under the umbrella of Nashville General Hospital at Meharry. Its purpose was to reduce chronic disease risk among residents of Davidson County, particularly those in North Nashville, through comprehensive programs addressing obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.

Although the physical center closed when its federal grant ended in 2009, its impact endures as a model for preventive medicine and health education. The current website, CenterForLifestyle.org, serves as a historical archive and a tribute to the center’s mission, preserving its original goals, press materials, and cultural relevance.

Origins and Federal Support

The Center for Lifestyle & Health Management emerged during a nationwide effort to combat chronic illness through community-based preventive care. It was established through a $3 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), made possible by Congressman Jim Cooper’s initiative.

The funding positioned Nashville General Hospital as the first hospital in the United States selected to lead a federal pilot program targeting chronic disease prevention. The Center officially opened on April 18, 2007, following a public open house on April 17. Its early press releases emphasized its innovative role in merging clinical medicine with lifestyle intervention and education.

Location and Facilities

The Center was located at 337 21st Avenue North, near the Charlotte Avenue corridor in Nashville — just blocks from Nashville General Hospital and Meharry Medical College. The area was chosen for its proximity to the communities most affected by high rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

The building hosted classrooms, consultation areas, and assessment spaces where patients could undergo health screenings, participate in workshops, and receive one-on-one coaching. The center was open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and served as an accessible health hub for residents who might otherwise lack preventive care access.

Founding Partners and Leadership

The Center operated through the Metropolitan Hospital Authority in partnership with Meharry Medical College, one of the nation’s oldest historically Black medical schools. The collaboration reflected a longstanding commitment to improving health outcomes in underserved populations.

Key figures at the time included:

  • Dr. Reginald W. Coopwood, M.D., FACS, Chief Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Hospital Authority, who led the hospital system during the center’s launch.

  • Dr. Darryl Jordan, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at NGH, who highlighted the significance of preventive education in North Nashville, where obesity and diabetes were particularly prevalent.

  • Mayor Bill Purcell, who publicly supported the initiative, recognizing it as a milestone in Nashville’s evolution as a center of healthcare innovation.

Together, these leaders framed the center not as a temporary clinic but as a forward-thinking experiment in community empowerment through education, nutrition, and exercise.

Mission and Objectives

The Center’s mission was to deliver the highest quality healthcare while helping residents adopt sustainable, healthier lifestyles. Its objectives included:

  • Reducing obesity-related illness through structured lifestyle coaching.

  • Educating residents about managing blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels.

  • Supporting physicians by encouraging proactive dialogue with patients about risk factors.

  • Building community partnerships that made health education both accessible and culturally relevant.

In short, it aimed to change health behavior before disease developed—a concept that would later become the backbone of many “lifestyle medicine” programs across the U.S.

Services and Programs

Individualized Lifestyle Assessments

Each participant received a personalized evaluation identifying risk factors such as BMI, family history, and dietary habits. These assessments guided individualized action plans.

Weight Loss and Fitness Strategies

Participants could join structured weight management programs focusing on incremental goals, improved nutrition, and moderate physical activity suited to each person’s condition.

Nutritional Counseling

Registered dietitians developed customized meal plans emphasizing low sodium, low sugar, and heart-healthy options—an early local application of evidence-based “therapeutic nutrition.”

Educational Workshops

Weekly classes taught participants how to read food labels, manage stress, cook healthfully on a budget, and incorporate daily exercise.
Workshops also introduced patients to the concept of “metabolic syndrome,” linking obesity, high blood pressure, and glucose levels to future disease risk.

Physician and Community Collaboration

The Center worked with primary-care providers and local churches, encouraging community leaders to promote preventive screenings and early intervention.

Community Impact and Audience

The Center’s reach extended primarily to Davidson County residents, especially those in North Nashville, where health inequities had long persisted. That region had a disproportionately high rate of obesity and diabetes due to limited access to affordable fresh foods and safe recreational areas.

By focusing on education rather than treatment alone, the Center empowered individuals to become active participants in their own health. It was common for entire families to attend workshops together—a reflection of the program’s community-driven nature.

One personal story preserved on the CenterForLifestyle.org archive describes how the program’s philosophy inspired an ordinary resident to get his uncle, who was diabetic and sedentary, involved in regular walks. That anecdote exemplifies how the Center’s influence reached beyond medical walls, translating lessons into tangible lifestyle change.

Closure and Legacy

Despite early success, the Center closed in 2009, shortly after its federal grant expired. The loss reflected a broader challenge in public health: maintaining community wellness programs without continuous external funding.

Still, the Center left a legacy that can be seen in today’s “Lifestyle Medicine” and “Health Equity” movements:

  • Its data-driven approach to obesity and chronic disease prevention predated national initiatives such as the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program.

  • Its integration with Meharry Medical College helped train future physicians to understand community-level determinants of health.

  • Its local partnerships foreshadowed the modern emphasis on neighborhood-based healthcare delivery models.

Although the building no longer operates as a lifestyle clinic, its principles—education, prevention, and empowerment—remain foundational to how Nashville continues addressing health disparities.

Cultural and Social Significance

The Center’s creation represented a pivotal moment for public health equity in Nashville. It served not only as a treatment resource but as a cultural symbol of progress for a city historically divided by health access and economic opportunity.

By targeting residents most at risk and integrating education into care delivery, the Center embodied a shift from “sick care” to wellness care—a mindset that has since become mainstream. Its collaboration with Meharry also highlighted the critical role of historically Black institutions in advancing health outcomes in minority communities.

The emphasis on preventive care over reactive treatment has since influenced regional health departments, nonprofit clinics, and academic research projects focused on chronic disease mitigation.

Press and Media Coverage

When the Center opened in April 2007, local media and civic leaders celebrated it as a national first. News releases from Nashville General Hospital emphasized both the innovation and urgency of the effort, noting that:

  • “Residents of North Nashville are at particularly high risk for obesity, which can lead to hypertension, coronary heart disease, and stroke.”

  • “About 40 percent of adults ages 40–74 currently have pre-diabetes,” according to NGH’s Dr. Darryl Jordan.

The Mayor’s Office, Congressman Cooper, and CDC representatives all issued statements recognizing the initiative’s leadership in translating federal health goals into local action.
These communications marked a high point in Nashville’s long-standing identity as “a city of healthcare innovation.”

The Role of the Website Today

The modern CenterForLifestyle.org exists as a digital reconstruction of the original 2007–2009 site, rebuilt by an individual who acquired the domain after it lapsed. The purpose of this reconstruction is to preserve the Center’s memory and document a period when Nashville took a leadership role in public health innovation.

The site includes excerpts from press releases, original contact details, and recollections that highlight how deeply the program resonated with its community. It functions as both an educational archive and a reminder that federal pilot programs can have lasting cultural value even after closure.

Its tone combines factual history with personal commentary—expressing regret that the initiative was discontinued but optimism that similar efforts could one day return.

Broader Context in Public Health History

The Center for Lifestyle & Health Management was part of a growing national awareness in the 2000s that chronic disease prevention required community participation.
Across the country, similar federally funded projects emerged under the CDC’s Steps to a HealthierUS initiative and other pilot programs. However, few received the same visibility or operated through a hospital as prominent as Nashville General.

The center anticipated the next decade’s transformation in healthcare strategy:

  • Lifestyle medicine became an accredited medical specialty.

  • Community-based participatory research (CBPR) gained traction as a means of reducing disparities.

  • Patient education became central to Medicare and Medicaid reform efforts.

Thus, even though the Nashville program ended, its structure continues to serve as a case study for preventive health design and federal grant accountability.

Community Reflection and Future Outlook

Many local advocates believe reopening a similar center would provide measurable benefits today, especially as obesity and diabetes remain leading causes of morbidity in Tennessee.
The archived site’s author expresses that sentiment poignantly—lamenting the closure while sharing how lifestyle motivation changed his own family’s health journey.

Modern health policy experts echo that perspective: successful preventive-care models must combine education, accessibility, and continuity—precisely what the Center for Lifestyle & Health Management achieved during its brief but impactful operation.

 

The Center for Lifestyle & Health Management represents one of Nashville’s most forward-thinking public health experiments. Backed by federal innovation funding, operated by Nashville General Hospital and Meharry Medical College, and rooted in community empowerment, the center demonstrated how lifestyle education can curb chronic disease risks long before medical crises arise.

Although the physical center closed in 2009, its spirit lives on through CenterForLifestyle.org, where the story of its inception, service, and legacy continues to inspire calls for renewed investment in preventive health infrastructure.

CenterForLifestyle.org