Rutherford County Health Department reports big rise in telehealth visits; environmental inspections noted clean

Director Butterfield presented the March 2026 community outreach report and emphasized growth in primary-care telehealth services, saying telehealth visits have increased substantially compared with 2025.

"Last year March we did one telehealth visit and this year we did 11," Butterfield told commissioners, adding that the department completed 22 telehealth visits in 2025 and had already reached 91 so far in 2026. He said the department will add telehealth figures to next month’s written report.

Commissioners asked how long the program has operated and what types of visits are done via telehealth. Butterfield said the state rolled out telehealth about three years ago and that the department primarily uses telehealth for medication checks, prescription refills and some lab reviews rather than new-patient primary-care exams. He said telehealth improves access for people with transportation or work-schedule barriers.

On environmental health, a commissioner asked specifically about tattoo inspections; Butterfield said inspections are "clean" and praised the environmental team’s professionalism and timeliness.

The committee moved to approve the Health Department report by voice vote; the motion carried.