As we celebrate Healthcare Week 2022 next week, we invite you to join us for a little fun! During the coming week, we will be playing bingo across the system. Here’s how it works: From Monday, May 9, through Sunday, May 15, daily bingo numbers will be drawn and sent to all our team members via email. Each team member will receive six bingo cards from their manager starting Monday, May 9. All six cards will be on one sheet. Please return your completed page of cards to HR no later than noon on Wednesday, May 18, in order to be eligible for prizes. Be sure to include your name and team member number on your entry! Cards can be hand-delivered to the closest HR location or scanned/faxed to your HR contact. HR contact names and fax numbers will be included in the daily email with the BINGO numbers.  Again, the deadline for submitting completed cards…

The Balladeer Children’s Program is planning a special day of fun at Dollywood on Saturday, May 21. Kids who are enrolled in the program will receive a free ticket for this particular day. (Parents and other family members are responsible for their own tickets.) A meal will also be provided for the children and for up to two accompanying adults. You must be a member of the Balladeer Children’s Program to participate in the event. Please note: Deadline to register for the event is Friday, May 6, at 4 p.m. IMPORTANT RESOURCES See the PDF flyer below for a QR code for Balladeer members to RSVP, or click here to RSVP. Click here to visit the Dollywood site where tickets for accompanying adults can be purchased. Click here for a list of frequently asked questions about the day at Dollywood. If you’re not yet a member of the Balladeer Children’s Program, click here to get…

Team members who want to cash in their unused PTO hours have until Friday, April 22, to complete the paperwork. Team members can take advantage of this one-time PTO cash-in by accessing the form on the Human Resources intranet page. This cash-in includes team members who are partially vested – see below for more details. NOTE: You must be on a Ballad Health network device to access the intranet. How it works: The amount of PTO you can cash in depends on a few factors, including how long you have been benefit-eligible at Ballad Health and how many “vested” hours are in your PTO bank. What are “vested” PTO hours? A percentage the PTO hours in your bank are considered “vested,” depending on how long you’ve been benefit-eligible at Ballad Health. If you have been benefit-eligible for four or more years, all your PTO is considered vested. So, a team member who has 100 hours…

Discounted, one-day tickets to Dollywood and Splash Country are available once again for Ballad Health team members, but the process for getting the tickets has changed – team members will now get their tickets online rather than through Ballad Health human resources. To order tickets, visit the Dollywood website’s page for Ballad Health at: store.dollywood.com/product/multi/promo/BALLADHQ NOTE: The Dollywood link does not work in Internet Explorer. Ticket prices (tax included) for Dollywood are $50.50 for adults (ages 10-up) and $47.15 for children ages 4-9. Tickets for Splash Country (tax included) are $42.65 for adults and $35.90 for children ages 4-9. The website through Dollywood will require the person purchasing the tickets to choose a date. If they are not able to go on the date they selected, they can change their reservation to another date. They simply need to use the ticket number to make a different reservation. Tickets at non-discounted rates are $94.40 per adult,…

The Balladeer Children’s Program, newly created for Ballad Health team members and their families, has several fun events coming up in April. Picnics in the Park – Three locations, three picnics! The afternoon will include a meal for you and the family, entertainment, games and more. Locations and dates are: Flag Rock Road in Norton, Virginia, on Saturday, April 23, from 1-4 p.m. Rotary Park in Johnson City on Saturday, April 30, from 1-4 p.m. Warriors’ Path State Park in Kingsport on Saturday, April 30, from 1-4 p.m. RSVP is required. You can do so by clicking this link. Day at The Wellness Center – Set for Sunday, April 24, from 5-7 p.m. Spend a day at The Wellness Center in Johnson City, enjoying several activities. Balladeer members will have access to both the lap pool and warm-weather therapy pool, basketball courts and interactive group games. Be sure to wear your swimsuit and bring a towel…

Dear team member, Ballad Health knows the historic rate of inflation being experienced throughout our nation is having a direct impact on our team members. Despite major increases in the cost of healthcare nationwide, Ballad Health team members will have NO increase in premiums for medical coverage for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1. Ballad Health is absorbing this cost on behalf of our team members. We know inflation is affecting just about every aspect of our lives. The cost of food, child care, clothing and almost everything else has gone up. That’s why Ballad Health has paid special bonuses, offered incentives for recruitment and is making investments into expanding child care throughout the region, as well as spearheading other initiatives to help our team members. And it is why we are not going to increase the out-of-pocket premium costs for our team members who seek health coverage. Benefit elections will roll over…

As Ballad Health Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alan Levine communicated last month, because of the hard work of our staff during the pandemic, we are allowing a one-time PTO (paid time off) cash-in, with the following details: A team member can cash in up to 40 hours from their regular PTO bank (must maintain at least 20 hours in your PTO bank). You will only be able to cash in vested hours from your PTO bank. You may not cash in hours from your frozen PTO bank. You can elect to have your PTO cash-in rolled into your health savings account (HSA) or your Lincoln Financial retirement account. The request form will be active Wednesday, March 23, and will remain posted until Friday, April 22, at 5 p.m. (no exceptions to the time frame). PTO cash-in requests will be processed and paid out on the check dated May 13, 2022. HSA and retirement plan rollovers will…

Ballad Health has a new program for team member children and families – the Balladeer Children’s Program. This program, a free benefit, is intended to strengthen family bonds and relationships among our Ballad Health family. We’re planning trips to area attractions, picnics in local parks, holiday celebrations and activities, sports activities, discount tickets for attractions or events, treats, take-home projects and much more! The Balladeer Children’s Program will create opportunities for team members and their children to gather for social engagement, benefit from various discounts offered to club members, engage in sponsored events and give children and their families a chance to meet new friends and enjoy learning opportunities. More than 400 children and 240 different Ballad Health families have already enrolled! Eligibility note: The Balladeer Children’s Program is ONLY open to Ballad Health team members with a child between the ages of 3 through 18. Only team members hired directly by Ballad Health are…

  With the uncertainty of market volatility, you may be feeling anxious about your retirement savings. It’s important to keep perspective on your own larger goals. Whether the market is up or down, your financial objectives likely haven’t changed. Remember — historically, every downturn has been followed by a recovery. Be patient, save consistently and focus today on controlling the things you can as you plan for the retirement you envision. Learn more by joining us for a live, virtual meeting to discuss market volatility! Wednesday, March 16 Noon-1 p.m. Register at LFG.com/balladschedule or JOIN MEETING HERE at the start of the meeting. You can also join by meeting number: Meeting number (access code): 2305 604 8756 Meeting password: 74Bga3UeNMA Additional resources For more information to help you understand market volatility, check out these great resources (click on each link to view): Navigating market cycles (video) Manage market volatility (web article with video) Understanding market volatility (flier)…

Ballad Health supports the continuing professional education and career development of our team members by offering tuition reimbursement and scholarships for specific organizational need programs. Applications for the upcoming fiscal year (programs that start after July 1, 2022) are being accepted through March 31. Scholarships for team members Ballad Health will provide full scholarships for any eligible team member who pursues higher education in certain clinical disciplines. Based on the educational program, Ballad Health will cover 100% of tuition, fees and books for team members who pursue higher education for an initial degree in nursing (RN and LPN), imaging, medical technology, surgical technology and catheterization lab technology. Additional details are listed below: These scholarships cover tuition, fees and books up to: $1,500 a term for LPN $2,500 a semester for team members pursuing an associate degree (RN, surgical technology, catherization lab technology and medical technology) $4,500 a semester for team members pursuing a bachelor’s degree medical technology….

Beacon Financial Credit Union, which serves as Ballad Health’s credit union partner, is excited to announce a new partnership with Mickey Byrd of Lincoln Financial Advisors. Many of you are already familiar with Mickey, as he was onsite Lincoln Retirement Consultant for more than 13 years, serving Ballad Health team members and facilities. His level of client service and dedication to the Ballad Health team is well-known in our area. Partnering with Mickey allows Beacon Financial to offer additional financial planning options and products, as well as someone local who is available to assist our members in creating and implementing a financial plan. Whether members are just starting out with a first job or are already retired, Mickey and the team at Beacon Financial Credit Union will be there to assist along the way. Please contact Mickey today to schedule an initial financial planning session and asset review. There is no cost for this introductory…

As a reminder, COVID-19 tests are now reimbursable with Ballad Health insurance. Ballad Health also now accepts proof of positive at-home testing for COVID-19. Any team member enrolled in a Ballad Health Medical/Pharmacy Plan is eligible for over-the-counter, at-home test kits through OptumRx. Note: The test kits are only available through OptumRx. Reimbursement is not available through the BlueCross BlueShield medical plans. There are several options: 1, Pay $0 at a preferred network pharmacy – Visit the pharmacy counter at a Sam’s Club, Walgreens, Walmart or Rite Aid (including Bartell Drugs) and present your member ID card and ask to have your over-the-counter (OTC) at-home COVID-19 test kits submitted to your plan for coverage. 2, Order at-home COVID-19 tests online with $0 copay through Optum Store – Get free shipping on orders of $45 or more. Requires sign-in to optumrx.com. Sign in to optumrx.com and go to “Get at-home COVID-19 tests with $0 copay.” Click the…