JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Ballad Health is offering free low-dose CT scans to individuals who meet criteria and have not had a lung cancer screening previously, helping expand access to potentially life-saving lung cancer screenings in the Appalachian Highlands where lung cancer is more common than others. Available for a limited time, these screenings are offered to individuals who qualify for their first scan. Appointments must be scheduled between May 6 and June 30. The screening is quick, painless and noninvasive. The scan itself only takes a few minutes, does not require needles, sedation or recovery time and patients can return to their normal activities right away. With screening available at many Ballad Health locations across the region, eligible patients can complete this potentially life-saving test close to home with minimal disruption to their day. These screenings are offered to individuals who qualify for their first scan. Appointments must be scheduled between May 6 and…

Lee County Community Hospital story is part of the documentary WYTHEVILLE, Va. – Team members and the community can join the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) on Monday, May 11, for a special screening of “Healing and Hope: Hospitals’ Legacy of Service in Virginia,” a powerful documentary honoring the dedication, resilience and impact of hospital and healthcare workers across the Commonwealth. Held in celebration of National Hospital Week and VHHA’s 100th anniversary, the documentary highlights more than a century of hospital care, innovation and service to Virginia communities. The film features stories of compassionate patient care, community investment and public health impact, including a story focused on Lee County Community Hospital, recognizing the perseverance and commitment of the local team and the vital role the hospital plays in its community. This special event offers an opportunity to pause and celebrate the extraordinary work of healthcare professionals, while reflecting on the long-standing legacy hospitals have…

Innovative talent development program launches its second year with over 500 students enrolled JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Ballad Health welcomed a record second class of 207 students to its Ballad Health Academy program with a series of events hosted at area high schools during National Nurses Week. Launched in 2025 with an inaugural class of 243 students across seven high schools and 11 middle schools in six Northeast Tennessee school districts, the Ballad Health Academy serves as both a unique career development program for high school students across the Appalachian Highlands and as a forward-thinking strategy to address workforce shortages in healthcare by creating local talent pipelines. Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the program takes an innovative school-within-a-school approach to create accelerated pathways from high school into healthcare careers. “Ballad Health Academy Signing Day marks an important step in a program designed to meet a national workforce challenge with a distinctly local solution,” said Alan Levine,…

As we recognize Healthcare Week and Nurses Week across Ballad Health, we’re rolling out a new feature on our Ballad Teams team member app — our “Celebrate” experience. If you go into the app on your mobile device, you’ll notice a promotional banner for our Healthcare Week features. If you tap on that, you’ll launch the Healthcare Week experience, which includes the ability to thank a fellow team member through our ACTS of Service feature, in honor of Healthcare Week or Nurses’ Week. You’ll also find special appreciation messages from Alan Levine, Ballad Health Chairman and CEO, and Lisa Smithgall, Ballad Health’s chief nursing executive. About the Ballad Teams app Ballad Teams is a free, team member-only mobile app that offers important system news and easy access to other useful resources, including your pay statements, PTO balance, team member discounts, IT support, benefits and a link to log into Smart Square scheduling. If you don’t have…

NOTE: This message was emailed to Ballad Health team members from Dr. Lisa Smithgall, Ballad Health’s senior vice president and chief nursing executive, on Monday, May 4. Happy Nurses and Healthcare Week! Each year, Nurses Week gives us an opportunity to pause and reflect, but more importantly, to celebrate you. Across Ballad Health, our nurses show up every day with skill, compassion, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. You are caregivers, advocates, leaders, mentors, and innovators. You are the heart of our organization and the future of our profession. This year, I am especially proud of the way our nurses are shaping not only patient outcomes, but our culture. Through our B Excellent program, we continue to build an environment grounded in respect, accountability, teamwork, and pride in our work. B Excellent isn’t just a program or an initiative… it’s how you show up for each other, how you support patients and families during life’s…

Lee County Community Hospital story is part of the documentary WYTHEVILLE, Va. – Join the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) on Monday, May 11, for a special screening of “Healing and Hope: Hospitals’ Legacy of Service in Virginia,” a powerful documentary honoring the dedication, resilience and impact of hospital and healthcare workers across the Commonwealth. Held in celebration of National Hospital Week and VHHA’s 100th anniversary, the documentary highlights more than a century of hospital care, innovation and service to Virginia communities. The film features stories of compassionate patient care, community investment and public health impact, including a story focused on Lee County Community Hospital, recognizing the perseverance and commitment of the local team and the vital role the hospital plays in its community. This special event offers an opportunity to pause and celebrate the extraordinary work of healthcare professionals, while reflecting on the long-standing legacy hospitals have built across Virginia – even in…

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Ballad Health was awarded Network of Excellence accreditation in robotic surgery by Surgical Review Corporation (SRC), honoring systemwide excellence in patient safety, surgical outcomes and clinical consistency. The national recognition coincides with a $15 million investment to expand robotic-assisted surgery across the region, bringing the program to additional rural hospitals. Ballad Health also recognized multiple surgeons who have achieved SRC Master Surgeon accreditation, underscoring a sustained commitment to the highest standards of surgical quality across the Appalachian Highlands. Surgical Review Corporation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to patient safety, named three Ballad Health hospitals as Centers of Excellence in robotic surgery – Franklin Woods Community Hospital, Bristol Regional Medical Center and Holston Valley Medical Center. With these recognitions, Ballad Health earned SRC’s Network of Excellence accreditation, which honors multi-hospital systems that demonstrate consistent, systemwide standards of excellence across their robotic-assisted surgery programs. As part of the Centers of Excellence designation, SRC also…

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Ballad Health’s Clinical Informatics Conference, scheduled for Thursday, April 30, has been postponed. Organizers from the Clinical Informatics and Epic education teams are working to secure a new date and will share updated details as soon as they are finalized. The event, entitled “Clinical Informatics: Bridging Care and Technology,” was planned at Johnson City Medical Center and offered CME and CEU credits. Clinical informatics is the essential bridge between clinicians and Epic, our electronic health record. Informatics provides the foundation for patient care by turning data into meaningful insights that guide clinical decisions. For more information, email wynn.clement@balladhealth.org.

Article summary Read the full article JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Ballad Health Research Institute has earned full accreditation from the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP), the premier international mark of excellence for organizations that conduct clinical trials. Earning accreditation from AAHRPP reflects an organization’s commitment to the highest standards of ethics, participant safety and research quality. It signifies that Ballad Health Research Institute voluntarily met rigorous requirements that exceed basic federal and international regulations. The process includes an extensive review of policies and procedures, a detailed evaluation of research operations and a site visit from experts in human research protections. “Research ensures that our patients are given access to the most advanced treatments and technologies available in modern medicine,” said Ballad Health Chairman and CEO Alan Levine. “It strengthens the care we provide today while positioning our region to drive medical innovation and share that knowledge with the world.” Ballad…

For team members who have the latest iPhone models, here’s a quick reminder on how to download the Ballad Teams team member app to your phone. We’ve put together a 40-second instructional video (see bottom of this article); the process is quick and easy! And for all team members – more than 9,000 of us are using Ballad Teams, our mobile team member app. Have you downloaded it yet? What is Ballad Teams? The Ballad Teams mobile app offers team members important system news and easy access to an array of other useful resources like your pay statements, PTO balance, team member discounts, IT support, benefits, and a link to log into Smart Square scheduling. We continue to add new features. For any team members who downloaded Ballad Teams previously but have since lost the app – perhaps from updates to your phone, or you may have a new phone altogether – or if you’ve never had…

Article summary Read the full article Coty Brummette, FNP-C, joins BHMA Community Physicians – Pulmonology NORTON, Va. – Coty Brummette, FNP-C, has joined Ballad Health Medical Associates Community Physicians – Pulmonology, where he specializes in the treatment of lung and airway disorders. Brummette provides a broad range of services, including care for asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease and other lung disorders in addition to offering lung cancer screening, lung condition diagnosis and management and pulmonary function testing. “I provide every patient the same level of care I would want for my own family,” he says. Brummette earned degrees from Radford University in Radford, Virginia, and King University in Bristol, Tennessee. He is board-certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Brummette is located at Ballad Health Medical Associates Community Physicians – Pulmonology, 98 15th Street NW, Suite 207A, Norton, Virginia. For more information, please call 276-439-1490 or visit balladhealth.org.  Kristin Harmon, MD, joins BHMA Family…

You can now receive emergency team member updates through the Ballad Teams app. Ballad Health uses Everbridge to send out emergency communications and alert team members to situations such as dangerous weather or active shooter scenarios. While you may already receive alerts through text or email depending on your Everbridge settings, you can now catch systemwide and location-specific alerts quickly and easily via Ballad Teams push notifications and view the full details of those alerts in the app’s notification center. To access the notification center, tap the bell icon on the home screen after logging into the app. You do not need the Ballad Teams app to receive Everbridge emergency alerts. You can change your Everbridge settings here, including which location alerts you’re subscribed to. You can download the Ballad Teams app by scanning the QR code below, or by clicking this link if you’re on your mobile device. Updating your Ballad Teams app To…