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Message from Alan Levine: Thoughts on criminal conviction of nurse in Nashville

NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members on Saturday, March 26, 2022, from Alan Levine, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ballad Health. Good Morning: Yesterday, a nurse who formerly worked at Vanderbilt University Medical Center was convicted by a jury in Nashville of negligent homicide and gross neglect of an impaired adult related to a 2017 incident in which she administered the wrong medication, resulting in the fatality of a 75-year-old patient. She was acquitted of the charge of reckless homicide, which the prosecution was seeking. This is a tragic case all the way around, and I know there are many questions. I’d like to share my thoughts with you, and perhaps give you some encouragement. In this particular case, the nurse was attempting to administer Versed, which as we know is commonly used throughout our hospitals, and is withdrawn from our Omnicell system. Instead of withdrawing Versed from the Vanderbilt…

Message from the CEO: New investment in child care and ongoing efforts to combat national staffing shortages

NOTE: This message was emailed on Wednesday, Feb. 16, to all Ballad Health team members from Alan Levine, Ballad Health’s chairman and chief executive officer.   Dear colleagues: Good morning. I have a couple of important things to announce to you, and some updates – most importantly, the new, major investment Ballad Health is planning to make in a massive expansion of affordable childcare for our team members. More on this below. As always, though, I would like to begin my message by saying thank you. Each of us contributes to the improvement of human life and the human condition through the work we have chosen to do. And without a doubt, our calling in healthcare has been tested over the past two years as we have each pitched in to serve our region. More than 450 team members, including all the way up to our senior leadership, have volunteered in our Helping Hands program to assist frontline caregivers. Nurses and volunteers…

Special message to Ballad Health colleagues from Alan Levine

NOTE: This message was sent by email on Feb. 2, 2022, to all Ballad Health team members from Alan Levine, chairman and chief executive officer of Ballad Health.   Dear Colleague: Each day over the past month – as I am sure many of you have done – I’ve prayed the number of new COVID cases would peak and begin to decline. I’ve prayed for this because I don’t want people to suffer and I worry for the people on our team who, each day, encounter all the terrible challenges that come along with COVID. As the Omicron Variant has ripped through our region, our healthcare team has done everything we could – and can do – to take the best possible care of our friends and neighbors in the Appalachian Highlands. Did you know that, even as our team has taken care of thousands of people inside our hospitals suffering with COVID, we also have a…

Message from Alan Levine: A Christmas wish for our team members

NOTE: This message was emailed on Friday, Dec. 24, 2021, from Alan Levine, Ballad Health chairman and chief executive officer, to all Ballad Health team members.   Dear Colleague: One year ago, as 2020 came to an end, we all began to feel the hope that came with the announcement of a new vaccine – something we had prayed would end the pandemic, and allow us to return to a sense of “normal.” We wanted to see our families and neighbors healthy. We wanted to see our kids in school, flourishing. We wanted to see people who had worked hard once again receive the blessing of economic success and reward. And, as people committed to serving others, we wanted to get back to the business of caring for all the people we knew needed us. Speaking only for myself, I’ve learned that my plans, however well-meaning, are often very different than the plan God has. And often,…

Message from Alan Levine: Update on CMS rule related to vaccine mandate

NOTE: This message was emailed on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, from Alan Levine, Ballad Health chairman and chief executive officer, to all Ballad Health team members.   Good morning: As you know, in early September, President Biden announced his intention to utilize federal agencies and their regulatory power over private businesses and health care institutions to enforce a mandate for vaccinating employees and, in the case of hospitals, anyone coming into connection with these institutions. This sweeping effort is the first time the federal government has ever taken such a step. On Oct. 26, I testified before the United States Congress and shared my concern about the use of sweeping federal powers to force a nationwide mandate. I argued that a “one size fits all approach” does not respect cultural differences throughout regions of the country, and failure to respect those cultural differences could do more harm than good in terms of educating people about the benefits…

Special Thanksgiving message from Alan Levine

This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members on Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2021:   Dear Ballad Health Colleague: A couple of thoughts, and then a few important announcements. I urge you to read to the end of this message. As we approach the holiday this week, and the coming season, I am reminded of the gift of reflection as we each hopefully take whatever moments we can with those we love. Each of us has our own faith. In my faith, I believe God doesn’t give us more than he knows we can handle. In the past two years, each of us has been tested in so many ways, and this only reaffirms my belief that within each of us is so much good, and within each of us are capabilities we did not even know we had. Grief, triumph and thankfulness That’s what I am thankful for as I reflect. Whether it is…

Message from Alan Levine regarding CMS vaccine mandate for healthcare

NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members on Thursday, Nov. 4. Dear Colleague: This morning, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new rule which mandates COVID-19 vaccines for any hospital, home health agency, long-term care facility and certain other health care providers. We are in the process of evaluating the rule and the impact it may have on Ballad Health. Upon initial review, it is clear the only exceptions to all team members, students, residents and anyone contracted with Ballad Health being vaccinated are for medical or religious reasons. The mandate is very far-reaching, and will impact our partner colleges and universities as well as vendors and others who have contact with our facilities. Prior to establishing our policy, we will be consulting with our Regional Ethics committee, which includes individuals from various backgrounds, including physician, clergy, nursing and community members. It is important we receive input…

Message from Alan Levine on PTO use

NOTE: This message was emailed on Monday, Aug. 16, from Ballad Health Chairman and chief executive officer Alan Levine to all team members.   Good afternoon: I wanted to share with you some steps we are planning to take which, hopefully, will be helpful to each of you as we continue to try to serve our communities through this ongoing pandemic. Many of our team members have put enormous work time in, either providing direct patient care or supporting those who do. As a result, you have foregone time that you’ve earned through your paid time off (PTO) accruals. We understand this presents a challenge, since our standing policy is that unused PTO over a certain threshold is not rolled forward. The last thing we want to do is to penalize anyone who is putting forth extraordinary effort. We want you to keep the time you’ve earned, even as we are asking everyone to put…

Message from Alan Levine: Update on vaccination status and badge buddies 7/20/2021

NOTE: This message was emailed from Alan Levine to all Ballad Health team members on July 20, 2021.   Good morning: As we shared with you last week, the federal government issued a stringent new COVID-19 rule which applies to health care workplaces throughout the United States, including Ballad Health. The rule by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is complex and lengthy. The part of the rule which has become an issue for many is the requirement that employers must have a plan, policies and procedures to determine each employees’ COVID-19 vaccination status if an employer permits exceptions to controls such as masking, social distancing, etc. The main point is that the employer must ensure, at all times, that employees are not exposed to the spread of the virus in the workplace. In the event even one unvaccinated employee is in a room unmasked with the potential to infects a coworker, Ballad Health could…

Message from Alan Levine: Update on vaccination status and badge buddies 7/15/2021

NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members on Thursday, July 15.   Good morning: Over the past 24 hours, we’ve communicated with you about the new emergency rule that OSHA imposed on hospitals and healthcare employers with respect to vaccine status, and other initiatives designed to protect employees.  This rule was adopted by OSHA without the standard public input period, and without the input of hospitals and other healthcare employers. The rule is complex, and in our view, parts of it are problematic. In communicating with our colleagues around the country, it is apparent health systems are struggling to figure out how to comply, with some systems merely mandating the COVID-19 vaccine. As I’ve shared, Ballad Health is not prepared to make the vaccine mandatory at this time. One of the provisions of the rule requires healthcare organizations to have a plan which includes “policies and procedures to determine employees’ vaccination…

Message from Alan Levine: Vaccination status and badge buddies 7/14/2021

NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members on July 14, 2021. Please see addendum at the bottom of the message.   Good morning: I’m certain you are now aware of steps Ballad Health is taking in order to comply with federal rules recently imposed on health care employers – rules which require that employers differentiate the vaccination status of employees for the purpose of protecting employees who are not vaccinated, or who are vaccinated, but remain at some risk. This new rule was promulgated using what is called an “Emergency Temporary Standard” – a rarely used mechanism to impose emergency rules which have the force of law. Some of our team members have reached out to me expressing concerns about their individual vaccination status being exposed. I understand this concern and empathize with those of you who feel this way. As of now, the decision as to whether to vaccinate is an…

Message from Alan Levine: Important update on steps Ballad Health is taking to address the nursing shortage

NOTE: This message was emailed to all Ballad Health team members from Alan Levine on Monday, June 7, 2021.   Dear Colleagues: Over the past several months, as the intensity of the COVID-19 crisis has begun to gradually recede, we are now seeing in our hospitals what we had feared would happen — an increase of burnout among our team members who have been at the front lines of the pandemic even as they have also been caring for the ongoing non-COVID medical needs of our community. This burnout has caused an increase in the number of nurses and frontline caregivers leaving the intense inpatient environment. Combined with a flood of high-acuity “pent-up” volume, the shortage is placing even more stress on our remaining med-surge nursing staff and other clinical team members. As you know, this stress results in shortages of staff, which impact our ability to accommodate the volume of patients on our med-surg…

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