Former Jackson-Madison Co. Health Dept. employee indicted

JACKSON, Tenn. — A former employee of the Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department has been indicted on charges of official misconduct and theft.

Court documents say Rachel Thomas, 37, took more than $1,000 in property or money from the health department between July 1, 2014 and October 1, 2018.

Madison County Deputy Mayor and Human Resources Director Tony White confirmed Thomas worked for the department from April 2014 until her termination in September 2018.

White confirmed Thomas was the public health program director for TennCare Kids.

Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department Director Kim Tedford released the following statement Thursday after Thomas’ arrest:

“This was a very unfortunate incident. We became aware of it and immediately notified the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office. As the report from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office stated, the employee was terminated. We’ve put new measures in place to ensure this does not happen again.”