Happy Thursday, Nashville. It's still hot, but relief is coming.

🌧️ Today's weather: Chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high of 91 and a low of 72.

Today's newsletter is 874 words — a 3.5-minute read.

One Tennessee voter's conversation with a lawmaker led to a new program supporting families facing Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

Why it matters: As Tennessee's population continues to age, more and more people are taking on caregiving work for their elderly family members. Often they're also juggling jobs and child care.

• It can be grueling, and state officials say government support will be necessary to meet this growing challenge.

By the numbers: The Alzheimer’s Association estimates 129,000 people age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's in Tennessee.

• About 393,000 people in Tennessee take care of a relative with dementia, the association says. Their work accounts for 686 million hours of unpaid care valued at $13.1 billion.

Zoom in: The Caring for Caregivers Act, which passed with bipartisan support and went into effect this summer, is one example of how lawmakers could address the issue, although it is starting very small.

How it works: The law establishes a pilot program giving financial assistance to a handful of Tennessee families.

• Family caregivers could receive up to $6,000. The money could be used to buy medical supplies or hire help.
• Lauren LeGate, assistant commissioner with Tennessee’s Department of Disability and Aging, tells Axios that kind of "respite care" can be a “lifeline” for physically and mentally exhausted caregivers.

Reality check: The total grant pool is $200,000, so the program will only be able to help a fraction of eligible families. (The original bill proposed a larger pilot with $600,000.)

What she's saying: “I don’t have a doubt that it’ll be gone very quickly,” the law's sponsor, state Rep. Renea Jones (R-Unicoi) tells Axios.

• “We have to take baby steps.”

If you're interested: The Greater Nashville Regional Council is administering the grant in Middle Tennessee. It expects to serve only two or three families in the region during the pilot phase.

• You can call the council's Aging and Disability Helpline at 615-255-1010 to learn more and join an interest list.

Between the lines: Jones says the pilot will help gauge demand for this kind of help. She encourages people to reach out to log their interest in the grant, even if they might not get it.

• “They need to be counted,” she says.
• Jones says documenting the unmet demand could help her expand the program in the future.

Flashback: Jones said her legislation grew out of a constituent’s experience watching his grandmother care for his grandfather with Alzheimer’s.

• As his grandmother took on more responsibilities, he said, he watched her health diminish and her life narrow. She stopped seeing friends and lost some of her own identity, Jones says.

The big picture: That experience is becoming more common as baby boomers become seniors. Jones says many of her peers in the General Assembly shared their own experiences with caregiving.

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A Middle Tennessee woman's family said a medical mixup last week at St. Thomas Midtown left her paralyzed following a routine knee replacement surgery.

• In a statement responding to reports about the matter, Ascension St. Thomas confirmed to Axios that an "event" at the hospital had affected four patients. The statement did not disclose the nature or cause of the event.

Driving the news: NewsChannel 5 first reported on the incident Tuesday night, citing the woman's family, who said she got the wrong medication for pain. The Tennessean later identified the patient as Glenda Dorton of Centerville.

• The newspaper talked to a family member who said Dorton was inadvertently treated with "contaminated vials" containing potassium.
• The family told the Tennessean the medicine was injected into her spine, leading to paralysis from her midsection down.

What they're saying: Shubhada Jagasia, the president and CEO at St. Thomas Midtown, said in a statement that the hospital had already reported "the event" to state regulators and "launched a thorough investigation."

• "We identified the cause and have implemented corrective safeguards."
• Jagasia did not give details about the four patients' conditions.

"On behalf of our leadership and care teams, I am deeply sorry for the harm caused to our patients," Jagasia said.

• "We have met directly with each of the families to express our deep support, connected them with spiritual care teams, and ensured they have access to all appropriate resources and ongoing care needed."

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⚡️ The Tennessee Valley Authority will consider a new electricity rate for data centers. (WPLN)

🥊 The new existential threat to AI is the rapidly rising public opposition to data centers. (Axios)

🇲🇽 Alebrije, located in East Nashville, made the New York Times list of best Mexican restaurants. (Tennessean)

Toby Keith joined Nashville's mural of legends.

The big picture: Keith, who died in 2024 at 62, was added to the mural that depicts country music royalty on the side of Legends Corner honky-tonk downtown.

Nate defeated a Waymo in a close race down Jefferson Street yesterday.

🐦 Adam is reading the 2010 novel "Freedom" by Jonathan Franzen. It's long but a page-turner.

This newsletter was edited by Jen Burkett.