Nashville General outlines FY2026 priorities, cost cuts and Meharry partnership to council committee

Nashville General Hospital interim leaders presented to the Metro Council Budget & Finance Committee Thursday, detailing recent operational changes, a planned professional services agreement with Meharry Medical College and steps to contain costs as the hospital prepares its FY2026 budget.

The presentation, led by Dr. Veronica Elders, interim CEO and chief nursing officer, and Dr. Blackledge, interim chief financial officer, said the hospital has responded to findings from a recent Metro internal audit, implemented new procurement controls and started to reduce contract labor and outside services to lower costs.

The changes followed a timeline Elders described as “the last 60 days,” during which the hospital tightened procurement authority, introduced DocuSign for contract workflows and terminated or renegotiated several outside contracts. Dr. Blackledge said three audit compliance items remain open: a legal recoupment action involving City Ballet, leadership training on the new contract-management system due in June, and two contracts to be brought into compliance and presented to the hospital board on May 29.

Why it matters: Nashville General is a safety-net provider for Davidson County, a licensed 150-bed hospital and the primary teaching hospital for Meharry Medical College. The hospital reported roughly 57,000…