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Sepsis is a medical condition that can cause death or serious long-term effects. The impact is so great that we’re putting a special focus on sepsis during September, which is Sepsis Awareness Month. Ballad Health has made sepsis awareness and prevention a priority and takes numerous steps to mitigate the risk of sepsis, including widespread promotion of hand hygiene and appropriate vaccinations. One of the key things you can do to help prevent sepsis is to prevent infections. Not all infections can be prevented, so not all cases of sepsis can be prevented. But by following some basic rules, you can decrease your risk. It’s also important to know the symptoms of sepsis and to act fast to get medical care if someone has an infection that is getting worse or is not getting better. Virtual sepsis monitoring Ballad Health has created a pilot program, virtual sepsis monitoring, in which a team of remote nurses…

Ballad Health is committed to supporting new members of the nursing profession, and we offer two excellent programs to help develop nurses just joining Ballad Health out of nursing school – our Nurse Fellowship Program and our Nurse Residency Program. Applicants must have accepted an RN position with Ballad Health in order to participate. Both programs are now open for applications. Visit here to learn more about the two programs or to apply! Nurse Fellowship Program This program takes place during the student’s last semester of nursing school and helps prepare them to enter the workforce as new graduate registered nurses. Who’s eligible to apply – ADN/BSN students who are entering the last semester of an accredited nursing program with a GPA of 2.75 or above, and have accepted a post-graduate RN position with Ballad Health. Program details – Nurses work with a nurse preceptor and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams, and are paid for their work. Application…

Did you know there are more than 1,400 known species of human pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa? Each month, our Ballad Health infection prevention team is highlighting one of those pathogens that you might encounter in your work. See what you know, or can learn, about these “bugs” through our “Bug of the Month” series! This month, we’re spotlighting Neisseria meningitidis. It’s a mouthful to pronounce and can cause big problems if you contract it. If you have questions or want more information, please reach out to your infection preventionist. Click here to see the flier below in PDF format.

Transfer of outreach services brings enhanced global resources to region, including expanded access to advanced testing, innovative digital tools for improved patient experience and achieves Ballad Health’s goal of continuing to lower the cost of healthcare JOHNSON CITY, Tenn., and BURLINGTON, N.C. – Ballad Health announced today it has reached agreement on a strategic collaboration with Labcorp, a global leader of innovative and comprehensive laboratory services, to provide outreach laboratory services across the Appalachian Highlands. This agreement includes the sale of select operating assets of Ballad Health’s outreach lab services to Labcorp. The sale of these lab services, combined with Ballad Health’s ongoing strategic partnership with Labcorp, aims to enhance patient care, expand access to advanced testing and improve efficiency for the health system and its patients. Ballad Health will continue to operate its inpatient and emergency department laboratory, as well as lab services for hospital-based practices such as oncology. Brad Price, Senior Vice President…

What’s harder – doing what you do as a nurse every day, or finding an opportunity to connect with other nurses in a safe space outside of work to debrief experiences, share challenges or absorb wisdom from someone who can relate? It’s no secret nurses are so busy taking care of everyone else – at work and at home – that taking care of yourself gets pushed aside. So, for the next few months, Ballad Health and East Tennessee State University’s StoryCollab are giving you a unique opportunity to do something just to benefit you.  Every second and fourth Monday, beginning Sept. 9, you’ll be able to sign up for a short online “story session” hosted from 9-10:30 a.m. Here, you can connect with other nurses, learn from each other about how to better cope with challenges you might be facing or ways to amplify your success, and reflect and process an experience you can’t…

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – A new partnership will bring employment opportunities to students with intellectual disabilities through a newly announced internship program at Johnson City Medical Center and Niswonger Children’s Hospital – the first of its kind in the Appalachian Highlands. Project SEARCH, which has international reach and helps students with significant intellectual disabilities access employment development opportunities in their communities, has been introduced in Johnson City to bring an internship program to local high school students in their senior years to help them find work after graduation. “We’re proud of this new partnership and the opportunities it will provide for the students in our community,” said Kenny Shafer, chief executive officer at Johnson City Medical Center. “Our facility is proud to work with Project SEARCH to ensure these students will leave our programs not only with marketable, transferable skills, but also job prospects, whether in their host facility or wherever they choose to work.”…

September is Sepsis Awareness Month, so we’re going to be spreading the word to our team members and to the public about sepsis – what is it, why is it a critical issue, what do you need to know about it, and much more. This condition is deadly serious and it’s important that team members and the public are aware of it. Ballad Health has made sepsis prevention a major focus, due to the fact that it creates so many serious issues with our patients. We are joining our state, national and global leaders in the fight against sepsis, as this year the governors of both Tennessee and Virginia have proclaimed September as Sepsis Awareness Month. The Sepsis Alliance continues to promote national awareness throughout the month, along with the global celebration of World Sepsis Day on Sept. 13. Sepsis can lead to worse outcomes, longer and more expensive treatments and more readmissions. Each year,…

If you’ve been involved in a performance improvement project at Ballad Health, we want to honor you. That’s why, after a five-year hiatus, the Ballad Health Excellence Awards are back! These awards are an initiative designed to recognize and celebrate the exceptional contributions of our dedicated team members and medical staff. If you’ve been involved in a project to improve your work and can show positive results – whether it’s clinical, cultural, financial or in other ways – this is a chance to share your improvement story and be recognized for your success. The submission period opened on Aug. 15 and lasts through Friday, Nov. 15, with winners to be announced at a special awards ceremony in February 2025, when we will come together and celebrate the incredible achievements within our organization. Click here to access the submission form. NOTE: You must be on a Ballad Health network device to access the submission link. More about…

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — At its Aug. 26 meeting, the Ballad Health Board of Directors approved a major capital investment to construct a new and expanded Emergency Department at Johnson City Medical Center. The project was first proposed by the health system’s management in early 2024. Now, with the board’s approval, planning – including a collaborative process with input from team members, medical staff, patients and members of the community – will begin immediately. The new emergency department is expected to be completed by 2027 and is in addition to the current expansion of Niswonger Children’s Hospital. The announcement of this project comes after surveyors from the State of Tennessee applauded the high level of trauma care being provided at Johnson City Medical Center for the entire region, with its recent triennial survey that found zero deficiencies in the operation of the center. “Johnson City Medical Center has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to care for…

Sign up now to share one at a short story session All nurses have stories, many of them untold, some treasured forever in your hearts. Now is your opportunity to preserve at least one for yourself, your family or future nurses. From Aug. 26 through February 2025, the Nurse Narratives Initiative will host 12 unique online 90-minute story sessions for nurses to share successes or challenges from your experiences. Here’s what you need to know to participate: For: All current and recently retired Ballad Health nurses Dates: Every second and fourth Monday beginning Aug. 26 through February 2025. You can sign up for more than one session, if you wish. Time: 9-10:30 a.m. Maximum number of participants for each session: 20 Bonus: $100 appreciation stipend for each participant To find out more, here’s the link to information about the 90-minute Story Sessions. Follow the registration link in this document to sign up for one (or…

Did you know there are more than 1,400 known species of human pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa? Each month, our Ballad Health infection prevention team is highlighting one of those pathogens that you might encounter in your work. See what you know, or can learn, about these “bugs” through our “Bug of the Month” series! This month, we’re not spotlighting a bug but instead we’re highlighting how to use hand hygiene to prevent spread of infection. If you have questions or want more information, please reach out to your infection preventionist. Click here to see the flier below in PDF format.

New artificial intelligence platform — championed by Ballad Health Innovation Center and Ballad Ventures — makes order verification safer At Ballad Health, we’re always searching for ways to make our patient care better. Now, thanks to a partnership with a company called MedAware, our pharmacy team is using artificial intelligence (AI) in our hospitals to make order verification safer. Ballad Health announced this partnership last year, but only within the last few weeks have we actually started using the MedAware AI functionality in our hospitals. Now we’re the first health system in the nation to deploy MedAware integrated into Epic, our electronic health record. We initially rolled it out at Holston Valley Medical Center, Bristol Regional Medical Center and Johnston Memorial Hospital, and have since expanded to all our hospitals. “This is a game-changer for us,” said Trish Tanner, chief pharmacy officer for Ballad Health. “It’s going to help our team provide better and safer…

Team members are required to provide a 24-hour notice for all clinical education or American Heart Association (AHA) course cancellations. Team members who fail to attend any course, arrive too late to participate or don’t complete prerequisites will be charged a $50 administrative “no-show” fee. Due to a sustained, systemwide increase in no-shows for all types of training, in accordance with our policy, no-show fees will apply to any clinical education or AHA training as indicated per defined policy criteria. Many courses require licensing fees for each participant, which must be paid even if the team member doesn’t attend. Every course provided by Ballad Health requires preparation, training materials and dedicated instructor time. When team members fail to attend, resources, time and training materials are wasted. When team members give 24-hour notice of cancellation, the education team has adequate time to redistribute resources, offer wait-list individuals the available open slot and conserve materials. How can…

Note: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members on July 23 from Dr. Clay Runnels, Ballad Health’s chief physician executive and an emergency medicine physician. Dear Colleague, I want to take a moment to highlight a recent story from Becker’s Hospital Review that focuses on the improvements Ballad Health has made in our safety culture. With our busy schedules, it is easy to lose track of the steps our team is taking every day to safeguard patient care, and this recognition from a national media outlet highlights our progress. Nearly every hospital in the nation struggled in terms of patient safety indicators during and immediately after the pandemic. According to our most recent quality data that considers our patient population, Ballad Health is performing at expected (or better than expected) on most measures. In seven of 11 patient safety indicators, we rank among the top decile in the nation. This is an impressive achievement in a short amount of time. The article highlights the steps taken by the team to turn these numbers around, particularly as part of our journey to becoming a high-reliability organization. It is a process…

Did you know there are more than 1,400 known species of human pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa? Each month, our Ballad Health infection prevention team is highlighting one of those pathogens that you might encounter in your work. See what you know, or can learn, about these “bugs” through our “Bug of the Month” series! This month, we’re spotlighting the virus called shingles. About 1 in 3 people in the United States will develop shingles, which can lead to serious complications, including pneumonia, long-term nerve pain and vision loss. If you have questions or want more information, please reach out to your infection preventionist. Click here to see the flier below in PDF format.

The latest cohort of the Aspiring Leader Program at Ballad Health celebrated completion of its five-month program with a graduation ceremony on July 17. The Aspiring Leader Program is administered by the Organizational Development department and is designed to create and enhance introductory leadership skills for those who aspire to become leaders or show leadership potential at Ballad Health. Participants are nominated by their supervisors and other leaders to take part in the program, which consists of leadership development classes and learning about continuous improvement. The curriculum includes components like Effective Communication, Creating a Culture of Trust, Time Management, Managing Conflicts and Differing Personalities, and LEAN methodologies and eliminating waste. Congratulations to our 21-member graduating class of Aspiring Leaders! Stephanie Bays Dallas Boone Carmen Bowers Tucker Chastain Courtney Cole Kerra Courtney Jordan Evans Ed Greene Lynda Greer Katheryn Hodges Abilene Hollenbeck Jessica Horn Crystal Johnson Samuel Mitchell Stephen Moore Jessica Myers Samantha Myers Caity Patten Theola…

Ballad Health has been recognized by the company Smartsheet for its successful use of the Smartsheet Modern Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) – helping save team members an estimated 3,000-plus administrative hours by using automated processes and allowing team members to manage 30% more projects. To read the full article from Smartsheet, click here. With the current nationwide staffing shortage in the healthcare industry, getting the highest efficiency out of our processes – and our workforce – is important. Ballad Health’s enterprise project management office (EPMO) uses Smartsheet Modern PPM to manage over 150 projects at any given time, helping to streamline projects, improve communication among our 20 hospitals and free up more time for analyzing population health data. “The labor shortage is real, and our resources are constrained like many other healthcare organizations,” said Isaac Mitchell, Ballad Health’s vice president of project management and operational excellence. “Smartsheet Modern PPM increases our efficiency and productivity,…