MATTHEW BURNETTE Contributor

U.S. Senator and Gubernatorial Candidate Marsha Blackburn took a tour of Unity Medical Center on Oct. 30 to see some of the advancements and improvements the facility has made in order to offer more access to healthcare for Manchester and Coffee County.

Unity CEO Martha Henley led the tour through the facility that made stops at different departments including the emergency room.

Henley explained beforehand that Blackburn has been “a real friend to rural hospitals.”

“We’ve felt it here at Unity,” said Henley, addressing the crowd before shifting her focus to Blackburn. “You’ve been great, and when we made those phone calls, you’ve answered and delivered, and we’re just really excited that you came to tour this facility and see it for yourself. We’re excited to show you what’s happening here in Manchester.”

After the tour, Blackburn said Unity is an example of “taking healthcare to people.”

“I talk about that a good bit, and it’s making certain that our communities have hospitals or free-standing emergency rooms and those important access points to healthcare,” she explained. “What they have done at Unity, of course, after meeting with their team over the last few years and knowing what’s taking place, being able to see it firsthand is fabulous.”

Blackburn said she plans to fully utilize the yearly $206.7 million the state will receive as part of the Rural Health Transformation Fund, an initiative the senator says she played a significant role in creating and getting passed as part of the “Big Beautiful Bill.”

“This will be a billion dollars into rural healthcare over a five-year period of time,” she explained. “What we are going to do, as Governor, I’ll be leading that effort into how we innovate, how we have more access points for people, how we expand that care for children and maternal care and mental health care, and how we have more beds across the state in areas and communities that are without those beds so that they have access to healthcare close to home.”

When asked how she feels heading into Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Blackburn says she feels “great.”

“We had a fabulous event this morning in Franklin County with a huge crowd,” said Blackburn. “People have early voted; I think we’re at a million Tennesseans that have early voted. Others are Election Day voters. They are ready to go, and we are going to win. We’re looking forward to winning and getting busy with the transition and then serving the state well as Governor.”