The event offers 100-, 75- and 50-mile courses starting at East Tennessee State University. For more information or to register, visit the event website here.

Ballad Health Medical Associates Pediatrics of Kingsport is doing two donation drives to help kids in the region. See the information below about what you can do to help!

Ballad Health’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) will offer a Resilience Therapeutic Group for healthcare and first responder workers who suffer from acute and chronic stress. Many times caregivers in the healthcare field need to regroup and decompress in a safe and healthy environment. The Health Resources Center in both Johnson City and Kingsport will be offering these classes once a week for four weeks in the month of August. Cost will be $10 per class. These classes are led by licensed mental health providers, allowing both a therapeutic and support-group experience while learning about tools and techniques to cope with the stressors healthcare can bring. CEUs can also be applied, if desired. Each month EAP will offer another topic over a four-week time frame to enhance the coping skills of our healthcare workers, to show appreciation to them, and to help healthcare workers heal while they help their patients to heal. For more information or…

As Ballad Health continues its transition from TEDS to HealthStream, check out this Frequently Asked Questions sheet available on the HR Intranet site. And be aware of a deadline that’s upon us; if you have any overdue CBLs in TEDS, they must be completed before July 31. After that date, you will not use TEDS for any education. Any CBL, eLearning or other education completed in TEDS after July 31 will not be reflected on your transcript.        

As a helpful reminder: We’ve started the transition so that all team members will complete their annual CBLs in HealthStream during their original hire month. This means any team members with an original hire date in August will see their Hire Month assignment curriculum assigned to them in HealthStream on Aug. 1 and be required to complete that no later than Aug. 15. An email reminder will be sent Aug. 1.   FOR MORE INFO If you have questions about HealthStream: Check out the HR intranet site that contains plenty of helpful resources. Review the Frequently Asked Questions document on the site that answers some of the most common questions around our new learning management system.   MANAGER TRAINING SESSIONS Organizational Development has scheduled ongoing training webinars which continue to introduce HealthStream to managers. This is another opportunity to receive the same training as previously offered, if you were not able to attend the initial…

As Ballad Health, we will now recognize a point-in-time evaluation period and will be transitioning team members who have been evaluated on their anniversary date previously. Note – this transition does not impact you if you were already using HealthStream for performance evaluations. General information on the transition is as follows: TEDS will no longer be used for introductory and annual evaluations after June 30. Currently due and overdue evaluations will still be accessed and need to be finished by July 31, 2019, in TEDS and pay increases (if applicable) will be processed. The common performance evaluation time period will be Sept. 1-Nov. 30 for all Ballad Health team members, with pay increases (if appropriate) applied the first full pay period in January 2020 based on the transition table below. There is a transition plan that will include providing expected pay increases (if applicable) for team members who would have been scheduled for their annual…

For the third year in a row, Hancock County Hospital has been recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as being among “67 critical access hospitals to know” for 2019. Hospitals featured on this list have been recognized for clinical quality and excellence in care delivery. They have truly become pillars of their communities, providing access to healthcare for a broad population. Organizations cannot pay for inclusion on this list. “We’re honored to earn this recognition again,” said Regina Day, administrator for Hancock County Hospital and Hawkins County Memorial Hospital. “All the credit belongs to our amazing team members and all their hard work. Providing healthcare in rural areas is extremely important, and our team members are dedicated to serving the people of our community.” Critical access hospitals have 25 or fewer inpatient beds, and the annual average length of stay is 96 hours or fewer for acute care. These hospitals also offer 24/7 emergency care and are located in remote areas….

Temperatures in our region are soaring – but there’s a blizzard in the forecast for Thursday, July 25. On that day, several Dairy Queen® restaurants in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia will come together for Miracle Treat Day, benefiting Niswonger Children’s Hospital. During Miracle Treat Day, $1 or more from every Blizzard treat sold at participating locations will be donated to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which raises funds and awareness for 170 children’s hospitals across the United States and Canada. WHAT TO DO Go to a participating Dairy Queen and enjoy a Blizzard. Click here to see all the participating stores. To help celebrate Miracle Treat Day, fans are encouraged to use #MiracleTreatDay on social media and invite others to join them in visiting a participating Dairy Queen location Thursday, July 25, and help kids get back to being kids. For more information about Miracle Treat Day, please visit miracletreatday.com. WHERE THE DONATIONS GO Niswonger…

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The 5K Glow Run is coming Aug. 9, and Ballad Health team members and their dependents can enter for free! The race is set for Friday, Aug. 9, at 8 p.m. at The Wellness Center, 200 Med Tech Parkway. The race is hosted by Ballad Health’s human resources department and The Wellness Center, and is managed by The Goose Chase. Runners are encouraged to dress in their best ’80s attire for the race, which finishes just before darkness. It’s a glowing, neon dash along Knob Creek Road, Sunset Drive and State of Franklin Road. Ballad Health team members and their dependents can register for free online by using the special code: teamballad19 Registration Register online at thegoosechase.org/5k-glow-run $25 through Aug. 7 $30 Aug. 8-9 at packet pickup Remember to use the code teamballad19 to get free team member registration.   Packet pickup At The Wellness Center Aug. 8, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Aug. 9, 5-7:30 p.m….

If you experienced a medical insurance premium increase in last week’s paycheck, it likely means you are missing one or more of the three components of our annual wellness screening: the biometrics and lab work, the online survey, or the nicotine attestation. You and/or your spouse (if applicable) can log in to your individual wellness portal to determine which components are incomplete. Link to access wellness portal: https://balladhealth.personalhealthportal.net/login Once you log in, you will see a landing page in the middle of your screen with a box labeled “Wellness Components,” with green check marks for completed items. If you need to reset your username or password: Go to the link above. Click “Forgot username” or “Forgot password.” Enter the requested information and click Create Account. Your information must match the information you provided in your Wellness Plan Survey. If you are unable to reset your password or username, please call the Applied Health Analytics help…

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Wednesday, Aug. 21, is Niswonger Night at the Johnson City Cardinals baseball game, sponsored by Niswonger Children’s Hospital. We have a limited number of tickets available, so while supplies last, Ballad Health team members can receive two free tickets if they show up at the ballpark gate with their Ballad Health ID badge. The Niswonger Night promotion was rescheduled from July due to rain. Game time is 6:30 p.m. at TVA Credit Union Ballpark, with the Cardinals taking on the Elizabethton Twins. It’s also All You Can Eat Wednesday.