JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Ballad Health Medical Associates has named Meridith OKeefe, a seasoned healthcare executive, as its new chief operating officer. Okeefe, who joined Ballad Health in September, brings more than 20 years of experience to her new role. As chief operating officer for Ballad Health Medical Associates, she will continue growing the medical group while optimizing its performance by meeting the needs of patients where they are. She will also play a pivotal role in carrying out Ballad Health’s mission to make high-quality healthcare accessible and affordable for everyone in the Appalachian Highlands. “As a professional, I’m very passionate about the sustainable delivery of regional healthcare – it’s important to me that everyone has access to the high-quality care they need and deserve, through traditional doctors’ appointments or through telemedicine,” OKeefe said. “On a personal level, I enjoy the culture of kindness in the Appalachian Highlands and am looking forward to plugging into…

W2 time is almost upon us, so it’s time to start preparing for them. You can help us ensure you get an accurate, timely W2 form from Ballad Health. Log onto Employee Space from the Ballad Health intranet main page (through HR & Payroll Service Center under “Quick Links”) and take a few minutes to do the following: Verify your Social Security Number. Making sure we have the correct Social Security Number ensures your wages are reported accurately. Verify your address. Making sure we have an accurate address ensures you get important information in a timely fashion. Your address in the system as of Jan. 10, 2024, is the address where your W2 will be mailed. Review your tax withholding. You may update your tax withholding via Employee Space at any time. Authorize EW2s. Authorizing your EW2 is a simple way to ensure you get your W2 as quickly as possible. Visit “Tax Forms” in…

Our fall/winter 2023 “SPLAT!” campaign has closed, and we have prize winners to announce! First, thanks to everyone who participated. Three SPLAT! days were held – one in October, one in November and one in December – in an effort to promote handwashing and infection prevention protocols across Ballad Health. Our clinical teams at Ballad Health inpatient facilities and long-term care areas (but not outpatient clinics) participated. What is SPLAT? This kind of campaign has been used successfully at various health systems around the country and has been featured by the American Nurses Association, the American Journal of Infection Control and other organizations. It was intended as a fun way to reinforce the lessons learned at recent hand hygiene review sessions, and is part of our continuous mission to deliver safe patient care and to be a zero-harm health system. Each clinical team member was given three cards on the designated day. Throughout the work…

Clinical Education, Organizational Development (OD) and Epic have an INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY FOR CLASSES (OD-100-007-BH). The policy was created out of concern for team members attempting to travel to classes when the roads are not in good condition. If you’re taking a Ballad Health class, here are the two key ways to find out if the class has been canceled due to bad weather: Team members will be notified of the decision to cancel educational classes via the Ballad Teams app on their phones, and at Balladhealthnews.org. In the event of bad weather, team members should check these two resources to receive the most up-to-date communication concerning schedule changes. An inclement weather message line (423-431-1062) has also been created to allow team members the ability to call to check status of altered scheduling of classes. A recorded message will alert callers if classes will be hosted as scheduled or if the decision has been made…

It’s W2 time! … Well, almost. Maybe it’s not exactly W2 time yet, but it is time to start preparing for them. You can help us ensure you get an accurate, timely W2 form from Ballad Health. Log onto Employee Space from the Ballad Health intranet main page and take a few minutes to do the following: Verify your Social Security Number. Making sure we have the correct Social Security Number ensures your wages are reported accurately. Verify your address. Making sure we have an accurate address ensures you get important information in a timely fashion. Your address in the system as of Jan. 10, 2024, is the address where your W2 will be mailed. Review your tax withholding. You may update your tax withholding via Employee Space at any time. Authorize EW2s. Authorizing your EW2 is a simple way to ensure you get your W2 as quickly as possible. Visit “Tax Forms” in Employee…

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – On Wednesday morning, Dec. 20, Ballad Health was notified of a chemical leak at La Quesera Mexicana in Greeneville, with multiple patients expected to arrive at Greeneville Community Hospital. By 11 a.m., the health system received reports of potentially dozens of patients who would need care. Incident Command Centers were established at both Greeneville Community Hospital and Johnson City Medical Center to allow teams to best allocate resources and utilize the Ballad Health Trauma Network. In total, the system received 25 patients from the incident. As of 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Ballad Health ceased operations at its Incident Command Center at Johnson City Medical Center, and the command center at Greeneville Community Hospital followed suit at 4 p.m. Throughout, Ballad Health was able to maintain sufficient clinical coverage on staff and on standby to treat the influx of patients. All patients were in stable condition, and most were able to be…