Attach to Form 990 or Form 990-EZ.
Go to
www.irs.gov/Form990 for the latest information.
| (i) Name of supported organization | (ii) EIN | (iii) Type of organization (described on lines 1- 10 above (see instructions)) | (iv) Is the organization listed in your governing document? | (v) Amount of monetary support (see instructions) | (vi) Amount of other support (see instructions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | |||||
| (A)
Mountain States Health Alliance |
620476282 | 3 | Yes | 0 | 0 | |
| (B)
Wellmont Health System |
621636465 | 3 | Yes | 0 | 0 | |
|
Total 2
|
0 | |||||
Calendar year (or fiscal year beginning in) ![]() |
(a) 2014 | (b) 2015 | (c) 2016 | (d) 2017 | (e) 2018 | (f) Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gifts, grants, contributions, and membership fees received. (Do not include any "unusual grant.") .. | ||||||
| 2 | Tax revenues levied for the organization's benefit and either paid to or expended on its behalf.... | ||||||
| 3 | The value of services or facilities furnished by a governmental unit to the organization without charge.. | ||||||
| 4 | Total. Add lines 1 through 3 | ||||||
| 5 | The portion of total contributions by each person (other than a governmental unit or publicly supported organization) included on line 1 that exceeds 2% of the amount shown on line 11, column (f).. | ||||||
| 6 | Public support. Subtract line 5 from line 4. | ||||||
Calendar year
(or fiscal year beginning in) ![]() |
(a) 2014 | (b) 2015 | (c) 2016 | (d) 2017 | (e) 2018 | (f) Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Amounts from line 4.. | ||||||
| 8 | Gross income from interest, dividends, payments received on securities loans, rents, royalties and income from similar sources... | ||||||
| 9 | Net income from unrelated business activities, whether or not the business is regularly carried on.. | ||||||
| 10 | Other income. Do not include gain or loss from the sale of capital assets (Explain in Part VI.).. | ||||||
| 11 | Total support. Add lines 7 through 10 | ||||||
Calendar year (or fiscal year beginning in) ![]() |
(a) 2014 | (b) 2015 | (c) 2016 | (d) 2017 | (e) 2018 | (f) Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gifts, grants, contributions, and membership fees received. (Do not include any "unusual grants.") . | ||||||
| 2 | Gross receipts from admissions, merchandise sold or services performed, or facilities furnished in any activity that is related to the organization's tax-exempt purpose | ||||||
| 3 | Gross receipts from activities that are not an unrelated trade or business under section 513 ..... | ||||||
| 4 | Tax revenues levied for the organization's benefit and either paid to or expended on its behalf... | ||||||
| 5 | The value of services or facilities furnished by a governmental unit to the organization without charge | ||||||
| 6 | Total. Add lines 1 through 5 | ||||||
| 7a | Amounts included on lines 1, 2, and 3 received from disqualified persons | ||||||
| b | Amounts included on lines 2 and 3 received from other than disqualified persons that exceed the greater of $5,000 or 1% of the amount on line 13 for the year. | ||||||
| c | Add lines 7a and 7b.. | ||||||
| 8 | Public support. (Subtract line 7c from line 6.) | ||||||
Calendar year (or fiscal year beginning in) ![]() |
(a) 2014 | (b) 2015 | (c) 2016 | (d) 2017 | (e) 2018 | (f) Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Amounts from line 6... | ||||||
| 10a | Gross income from interest, dividends, payments received on securities loans, rents, royalties and income from similar sources.. | ||||||
| b | Unrelated business taxable income (less section 511 taxes) from businesses acquired after June 30, 1975. | ||||||
| c | Add lines 10a and 10b. | ||||||
| 11 | Net income from unrelated business activities not included in line 10b, whether or not the business is regularly carried on. | ||||||
| 12 | Other income. Do not include gain or loss from the sale of capital assets (Explain in Part VI.) .. | ||||||
| 13 | Total support. (Add lines 9, 10c, 11, and 12.).. | ||||||
| Section A - Adjusted Net Income | (A) Prior Year |
(B) Current Year (optional) |
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| 1 | Net short-term capital gain | 1 | ||||
| 2 | Recoveries of prior-year distributions | 2 | ||||
| 3 | Other gross income (see instructions) | 3 | ||||
| 4 | Add lines 1 through 3 | 4 | ||||
| 5 | Depreciation and depletion | 5 | ||||
| 6 | Portion of operating expenses paid or incurred for production or collection of gross income or for management, conservation, or maintenance of property held for production of income (see instructions) | 6 | ||||
| 7 | Other expenses (see instructions) | 7 | ||||
| 8 | Adjusted Net Income (subtract lines 5, 6 and 7 from line 4) | 8 | ||||
| Section B - Minimum Asset Amount | (A) Prior Year |
(B) Current Year (optional) |
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| 1 | Aggregate fair market value of all non-exempt-use assets (see instructions for short tax year or assets held for part of year): | 1 | ||||
| a | Average monthly value of securities | 1a | ||||
| b | Average monthly cash balances | 1b | ||||
| c | Fair market value of other non-exempt-use assets | 1c | ||||
| d | Total (add lines 1a, 1b, and 1c) | 1d | ||||
| e |
Discount claimed for blockage or other factors (explain in detail in Part VI): |
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| 2 | Acquisition indebtedness applicable to non-exempt use assets | 2 | ||||
| 3 | Subtract line 2 from line 1d | 3 | ||||
| 4 | Cash deemed held for exempt use. Enter 1-1/2% of line 3 (for greater amount, see instructions). | 4 | ||||
| 5 | Net value of non-exempt-use assets (subtract line 4 from line 3) | 5 | ||||
| 6 | Multiply line 5 by .035 | 6 | ||||
| 7 | Recoveries of prior-year distributions | 7 | ||||
| 8 | Minimum Asset Amount (add line 7 to line 6) | 8 | ||||
| Section C - Distributable Amount | Current Year | |||||
| 1 | Adjusted net income for prior year (from Section A, line 8, Column A) | 1 | ||||
| 2 | Enter 85% of line 1 | 2 | ||||
| 3 | Minimum asset amount for prior year (from Section B, line 8, Column A) | 3 | ||||
| 4 | Enter greater of line 2 or line 3 | 4 | ||||
| 5 | Income tax imposed in prior year | 5 | ||||
| 6 | Distributable Amount. Subtract line 5 from line 4, unless subject to emergency temporary reduction (see instructions) | 6 | ||||
| Section D - Distributions | Current Year | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Amounts paid to supported organizations to accomplish exempt purposes | ||
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2
Amounts paid to perform activity that directly furthers exempt purposes of supported organizations, in excess of income from activity |
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| 3 Administrative expenses paid to accomplish exempt purposes of supported organizations | ||
| 4 Amounts paid to acquire exempt-use assets | ||
| 5 Qualified set-aside amounts (prior IRS approval required) | ||
| 6 Other distributions (describe in Part VI). See instructions | ||
| 7Total annual distributions. Add lines 1 through 6. | ||
|
8
Distributions to attentive supported organizations to which the organization is responsive (provide details in Part VI). See instructions |
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| 9 Distributable amount for 2018 from Section C, line 6 | ||
| 10 Line 8 amount divided by Line 9 amount | ||
| Section E - Distribution Allocations (see instructions) |
(i) Excess Distributions |
(ii) Underdistributions Pre-2018 |
(iii) Distributable Amount for 2018 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
Distributable amount for 2018 from Section C, line 6 |
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2
Underdistributions, if any, for years prior to 2018 (reasonable cause required-- explain in Part VI). See instructions. |
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| 3 Excess distributions carryover, if any, to 2018: | ||||
| a From 2013....... | ||||
| b From 2014....... | ||||
| c From 2015....... | ||||
| d From 2016....... | ||||
| e From 2017....... | ||||
| fTotal of lines 3a through e | ||||
| g Applied to underdistributions of prior years | ||||
| h Applied to 2018 distributable amount | ||||
|
i
Carryover from 2013 not applied (see instructions) |
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| j Remainder. Subtract lines 3g, 3h, and 3i from 3f. | ||||
| 4Distributions for 2018 from Section D, line 7: | ||||
| $ | ||||
| a Applied to underdistributions of prior years | ||||
| b Applied to 2018 distributable amount | ||||
| c Remainder. Subtract lines 4a and 4b from 4. | ||||
|
5
Remaining underdistributions for years prior to 2018, if any. Subtract lines 3g and 4a from line 2. If the amount is greater than zero, explain in Part VI. See instructions. |
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6
Remaining underdistributions for 2018. Subtract lines 3h and 4b from line 1. If the amount is greater than zero, explain in Part VI. See instructions. |
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7 Excess distributions carryover to 2019. Add lines 3j and 4c. |
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| 8 Breakdown of line 7: | ||||
| a Excess from 2014...... | ||||
| b Excess from 2015..... | ||||
| c Excess from 2016..... | ||||
| d Excess from 2017..... | ||||
| e Excess from 2018..... | ||||
| Facts And Circumstances Test |
|---|
| Return Reference | Explanation |
|---|
| Software ID: | 18007218 |
| Software Version: | 2018v3.1 |
Attach to Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Go to www.irs.gov/Form990 for the latest information.
| Return Reference | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Form 990, Part VI, Line 11b: Form 990 Review Process | Ballad Health's EVP/CFO reviewed the Form 990 with the board of directors prior to the return being filed with the IRS. The return was made available to each board member in an electronic format prior to the review. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Line 12c: Explanation of Monitoring and Enforcement of Conflicts | Ballad Health has a conflict of interest policy for all members of the Board of Directors, the Executive Chair/President, Executive Vice Presidents, Senior Vice Presidents, and Vice Presidents, and applies to all Ballad Health organizations. All persons covered by this policy are required to complete a conflict of interest disclosure form on an annual basis. Should a conflict arise, it is the responsibility of the conflicted individual to update his or her disclosure immediately. All meetings of the board or board committees have a standing agenda item first on the agenda titled Conflicts of Interest. If a member of the board or board committee has a conflict of interest involving any issue on the board agenda, he or she must declare the conflict of interest during the period allotted for disclosure. If any issue arises during a meeting in which the board member has a conflict of interest, he or she must immediately declare the conflict. While each member of the board or board committee is responsible for disclosing conflicts of interest, it is also the responsibility of any board member aware of a conflict which has not been disclosed to ensure the board is made aware. The presiding officer of a board or board committee meeting may ask a conflicted member to excuse themselves from the meeting during the discussion related to the issue with which the conflict of interest applies. Under no circumstances shall a member vote on a matter that gives rise to a potential conflict. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Line 15a: Compensation Review & Approval Process - CEO, Top Management | The executive committee serves as the compensation committee of Ballad Health's Board of Directors. The compensation plan for Alan Levine, Ballad Health's President and CEO, was reviewed and approved by the executive committee. An outside and independent compensation consultant was used to determine his compensation and benefits. Studies and surveys were used to ensure his pay is comparable to like positions at similarly situated organizations. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Line 15b: Compensation Review and Approval Process for Officers and Key Employees | The executive committee reviewed and approved compensation for all Ballad Health executives at the vice-president level and above during FY19 using the same methodology used to determine the CEO's compensation. |
| Form 990, Part VI, Line 19: Other Organization Documents Publicly Available | Governing documents and conflict of interest policy are made available upon request to the appropriate parties requesting them. Financial statements are made available upon request to appropriate parties requesting them, and they are made available to those parties who own indebtedness of the company on a quarterly basis. |
| Other Changes In Net Assets Or Fund Balances - Other Increases | Capital Infusion - from controlled entity - MSHA = $XXX-XX-XXXX |
| Other Changes In Net Assets Or Fund Balances - Other Increases | Capital Infusion - from controlled entity - WHS = $XXX-XX-XXXX |
| Other Changes In Net Assets Or Fund Balances - Other Increases | Change in Fair Value of interest rate swaps = $8389804 |
| Other Changes In Net Assets Or Fund Balances - Other Increases | Elimination of Intercompany Receivables/Payables = $XXX-XX-XXXX |
| Other Changes In Net Assets Or Fund Balances - Other Increases | Investment in ISHN = $2488629 |
| Other Changes In Net Assets Or Fund Balances - Other Decreases | Minority Interest - Norton Community Hospital = -$45000000 |
| Other Changes In Net Assets Or Fund Balances - Other Increases | Temporarily Restricted Grants = $146491 |
| IMPROVING ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE SERVICES | OPENED RURAL HOSPITAL IN UNICOI COUNTY - Ballad Health officially opened the new Unicoi County Hospital in October 2018. The 40,000-square-foot facility includes a 24-hour emergency department with a telemedicine connection to Niswonger Childrens Hospital; 10 inpatient beds; pulmonary, cardiac and acute care services; a chest pain center; standard and advanced diagnostics, including nuclear medicine; and outpatient services. SUPPORTED MILLIGAN COLLEGES ADDICTION COUNSELING CONCENTRATION - With support from Ballad Health, Milligan College announced the expansion of its Master of Science in Counseling program to include a concentration in addictions counseling, beginning in the fall of 2019. Milligans counseling program is a two-year, 60 credit hour program offering concentrations in clinical mental health and school counseling. The addition of addictions counseling is projected to double the number of students in the program.With limited graduate-level options available in the region, the demand for licensed addictions counselors has increased exponentially. Graduates of the new concentration will be qualified for licensure as addictions counselors. Also, current licensed clinical mental health counselors will have an option to add on the addictions subspecialty in as few as two semesters. PARTNERSHIP WITH ETSU TO CREATE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM IN ADDICTION MEDICINE - Ballad Health and East Tennessee State University formed a partnership to create a new fellowship program in addiction medicine. As part of its commitment to expand education and training in the region, Ballad Health will fund any un-reimbursed costs of the fellowship program which, over a 10-year period, could cost more than $2.5M. Once it seeks accreditation to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, ETSU has a goal of accepting its first fellows by July 2020.RECRUITMENT OF NEW PHYSICIANS TO RURAL SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA - Ballad Health provided the necessary resources to recruit more than 140 new specialists to serve our region, many of whom were recruited to private practices not owned by Ballad Health. The addition of specialists is helping to improve access to care in rural communities. For instance, Wise County in Virginia now benefits from an orthopedist, a cardiologist and several other physicians and providers. Wythe County, in Virginia, a community not served by a Ballad Health hospital, benefits from a cardiologist recruited by Ballad Health. Throughout the region, new physicians and advanced practitioners, recruited and funded by Ballad Health, are serving the region from trauma care to pediatrics, from Wythe County Virginia to Hancock County, Tennessee. DONATED EMS SUBSTATION PROPERTY TO GREENE COUNTY - Ballad Health donated the Greene County-Greeneville Emergency Medical Service Substation building to Greene County. The donation involves a two-story brick substation and a nearby building. The substation serves residents within the town limits, but also acts as a backup for the four county-based substations in Mosheim, Tusculum, Baileyton and in the South Greene community. The substation, which functions as EMS headquarters, features three ambulance bays, a kitchen, a lounge, bathrooms, storage areas, and sleeping quarters for up to eight people. The adjacent building will be repurposed in the near future for offices, meeting space and training classrooms. DONATED EMS SUBSTATION PROPERTY TO GREENE COUNTY - Ballad Health donated the Greene County-Greeneville Emergency Medical Service Substation building to Greene County. The donation involves a two-story brick substation and a nearby building. The substation serves residents within the town limits, but also acts as a backup for the four county-based substations in Mosheim, Tusculum, Baileyton and in the South Greene community. The substation, which functions as EMS headquarters, features three ambulance bays, a kitchen, a lounge, bathrooms, storage areas, and sleeping quarters for up to eight people. The adjacent building will be repurposed in the near future for offices, meeting space and training classrooms. IMPROVING HEALTHCARE QUALITY QUALITY METRICS - Ballad Healths Board of Directors has adopted a zero-harm culture for the organization, and processes have commenced to institutionalize this objective. This focused effort on quality improvement significantly benefited patients. Specific examples include: zero infections for abdominal hysterectomy cases across the system; 47% reduction in pressure injury rate; 42% reduction in clostridium difficile infections; 39% reduction in iatrogenic pneumothorax rate; and 13% reduction in central line bloodstream infections.During FY19, there has been a 10 percent reduction in the hospital readmission rate over the prior year, and a 25 percent reduction among legacy hospitals since 2015 as evidence that physician and administrative partnership is resulting in lower cost and lower risk to patients. Ballad Health achieved the lowest readmission rate in either legacy health systems histories. NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS - U.S. News & World Report named all four of Ballad Healths flagship hospitalsJohnson City Medical Center, Holston Valley Medical Center, Bristol Medical Center in Tennessee and Johnston Memorial Hospital in Virginiaas top-performing hospitals in Tennessee and Virginia in several specialties, with each hospital providing top performing services and programs in heart failure and COPD in both states. In each state, less than 30% of all hospitals had any top-performing programs. Additionally, in the U.S. News rankings, Bristol Regional and Holston Valley moved up in overall rankings from No. 10 in Tennessee last year to No. 7 this year. And recently, Forbes Magazine named Johnson City Medical Center as one of the best employers in Tennessee among all employers.ONGOING QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS RECEIVE PRAISE FROM NATIONAL EXPERTS -Ballad Health has instituted a comprehensive quality improvement program system wide based on the FOCUS PDCA modela model designed to empower team members to identify opportunities for improvement and measurably implement those opportunities. These efforts are organic and driven by staff at all levels. The Ballad Health approach to quality improvement was recently praised by national experts who facilitate and assess organizational commitment to quality. For instance, in the past year, a total of 130 quality improvement projects across the system qualified at various levels of improvement for recognition, with 42 national judges evaluating the projects and awarding recognition for the results. Examples of improvement projects include: A 91.6% reduction in restraint use and 18 months of zero restraints for adolescents at the Willow Unit at Woodridge Hospital; a 95% reduction in the amount of oral contrast used for outpatients and inpatients prior to receiving a CT scan at Indian Path Community Hospital, which produced $139,000 in annual cost savings; and a 50% reduction in hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile (C.diff) across all 21 hospitals within three months, which represented $2.3 million in cost savings. PARTICIPATION IN THE MEDICAID TRANSFORMATION PROJECT - Ballad Health and a group of the nations leading health systems joined forces to identify ways to better care for some of the nations most vulnerable populations through the Medicaid Transformation Project. The project is a national effort to transform healthcare and address social determinants of health for the nearly 75 million Americans who rely on Medicaid. The work focused on four keys areas of opportunity: Behavioral health, child and maternal health, substance use disorder and avoidable emergency department visits. PARTICIPATION IN THE HIGH-VALUE CARE COLLABORATIVE - Ballad Health was chosen for a national initiative called The High-Value Care Collaborative, a partnership of the American Hospital Association, the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundations Choosing Wisely campaign, and the Costs of Care organization, that brings together participants to improve efficiency in healthcare, decrease cost and improve quality. During the past year, Ballad Health and other participants in the program adopted strategies to reduce unnecessary cost and deliver evidence-based care that has been demonstrated to reduce the burden on patients. Ballad Health was selected for the collaborative following successful implementation of several initiatives, including a successful effort to reduce certain hospital-acquired conditions by as much as 41 percent. |
| IMPROVING THE COMMUNITY'S HEALTH STATUS | ACCOUNTABLE CARE COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENTS - A leadership committee representing 24 regional organizations, along with more than 250 community stakeholder groups, has created the regions first accountable care community a collaborative group whose goal is to transform the health of a region spanning 21 counties in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. A formalized partnership of Ballad Health, Healthy Kingsport and the United Way of Southwest Virginia serves as the backbone of the accountable care community, which uses the collective impact model to align the efforts of all sectors of a community or region to accomplish shared objectives.The accountable care community will focus on supportive systems, programs and environments that nurture strong children and families to help them develop the key characteristics that will lead to success in life. The 250 community stakeholder groups identified the concept of personal resiliency as being a primary differentiator between those who succeed in life and overcome adverse experiences and those who do not, which is especially critical to our regions children.CREATION OF NEW BALLAD HEALTH BEHAVIORAL SERVICES DIVISION - To achieve success in a value-based healthcare environment and to achieve the goals for improved access to behavioral services for the region, Ballad Health created the Behavioral Health Services Division. This new division will oversee all inpatient and outpatient services, including Overmountain Recovery and 186 behavioral service beds throughout the health system, including the 84 beds at Woodridge Hospital, the only dedicated inpatient behavioral health hospital in the region. Already, the new division is taking lead on establishing a residential facility for women who are pregnant and homeless, or drug addicted a meaningful step toward reducing the abuse, neglect and challenges that plague our region due to the addiction epidemic. PROGRAMS TO IMPROVE CHILD LITERACY - Since 2014, Niswonger Childrens Hospital has reached outside the hospital walls and into the community to improve child literacy through the B.E.A.R. Buddies reading program, which pairs volunteer mentors with elementary school students who need a boost in their reading skills. When five new schools recently requested to join the program, Ballad Health Chairman and CEO Alan Levine issued a call to Ballad Health team members to help fill the gap. To date, 100 volunteers for the 2020 school year have signed up. Ballad Health also partnered with seven United Way organizations in a pilot initiative to increase grade-level reading and improve reading proficiency for the regions children. The program is supported by a $300,000 investment, which includes $100,000 from Ballad Health Foundation and $100,000 from contributions made by Ballad Health team members during the health systems 2018 team member campaign. The program is piloting the following initiatives: Tutoring and educational programming designed to raise childrens reading level scores in school systems; training on trauma-informed care for teachers and caregivers; United WE READ, which engages, empowers and equips all children and families using tools and strategies to build a literacy-rich culture; reading volunteers brought digitally into the classroom through a computer program called Vello; and a region-wide chronic absence initiative offering mini-grants and a regionally-focused online attendance toolkit across 17 school districts in Southwest Virginia.In April 2019, Ballad Health donated 3,000 books to schools in Smyth County, Virginia, allowing each student in the school system to take home a free book.STRONG KIDS INTIATIVE - Ballad Health is participating in a new initiative called STRONG Kids, which stands for Striving Toward Resiliency and Opportunities for the Next Generation, that brings together and assists regional organizations that support children. The program will enable Ballad Health, Niswonger Childrens Hospital and the Bristol chapter of Speedway Childrens Charities to share ideas and best practices that will help children in the region reach their potential through expanded opportunities in health, education and economic vitality. The partnership is designed to bring a new level of support to these organizations that are on the front lines serving children.CREATION OF THE BALLAD HEALTH INNOVATION CENTER - Ballad Health created The Innovation Center to serve as a hub for development of partnerships and collaborations that can bring to market life-saving initiatives and other technologies and services that can improve the human condition. Interfacing with Ballad Health research programs and developing partnerships with vendors that add value, The Innovation Center will create opportunities to capitalize on new programs that have potential in the marketplace.COMMUNITY RESOURCES - Ballad Health parish nurses work with individual congregations to help people in religious communities improve their health, prevent illness and injury and ease suffering associated with any health crisis. The parish nurse acts as counselor, educator and healthcare provider by identifying needs of the congregation, coordinating health screenings, providing educational programs, supplying health literature and referring congregants to supportive health services where appropriate. Also, the parish nurse maintains an active visitation program to parishioners who are homebound, hospitalized or in nursing homes. Currently, there are dozens of churches in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia that are serviced by the Ballad Health parish nurse program. Ballad Healths Nurse Connect is a toll-free line that connects community members with experienced nurses around the clock. The nurses provide expert medical advice anytime, day or night, make referrals to a primary care provider with a location and hours convenient to the community member and referrals to a physician specialist when they need advanced local medical care. They also provide health information and resources, including health screenings and immunizations, and make referrals to urgent care clinics to see a doctor near the community member the same day. Ballad Healths Marsh Regional Blood Center supplies the blood needs of 28 hospitals and 5 rescue aircraft across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. This is accomplished through our collection facilities in Kingsport, Johnson City, Bristol, and 650 mobile blood drives at local high schools, businesses, and colleges each year. Marsh conducts blood drives with 49 high schools and 21 colleges & vocational schools throughout Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. |
| INVESTMENTS | COMMON ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD - Ballad Health made progress in FY19 toward establishing a common clinical platform and electronic health record (EHR). An implementation plan was developed to include infrastructure enhancements to support the expansion. A common EHR across the new health system will allow patient information to be shared immediately at the point of service regardless of where a patient enters the Ballad system, providing clinical staff with information to better manage patients in the emergency room, clinics, acute and post-acute settings. MOVE TO IMPLEMENT COMPREHENSIVE REGIONAL TRAUMA AND EMERGENCY SYSTEM - To reduce the number of duplicative services and better align the health systems resources, Ballad Health made progress towards implementing a comprehensive regional trauma and emergency system to better meet the needs of the Appalachian Highlands region. As part of creating a fully-integrated and highly-coordinated trauma and emergency system, Ballad Health successfully moved to realign the status of Holston Valley Medical Centers trauma center from a Level I to a Level III, and expects to realign Bristol Regional Medical Centers trauma center from a Level II to a Level III within the coming year. This move closely follows evidence-based best practices, which indicates the highest-acuity services are best provided in a higher-volume setting where staff and physician coverage is consistent, and quality is improved.Ballad Health serves as the Official Healthcare Trauma and Emergency Services Provider for Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS). The partnership pledges Ballad Healths trauma and emergency teams will be ready and equipped to handle any medical emergency situations during BMS events with service provided to both guests and participants. Medical services delivered to guests and participants at the speedway is provided at no cost to the patient or community. ENHANCED PEDIATRIC TRAUMA AND PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY ROOMS - Ballad Health is seeking to improve pediatric care by investing in additional pediatric specialties which will support the pediatric trauma program at Niswonger Childrens Hospital, and plans have been announced to add new pediatric emergency rooms in Kingsport and Bristol. Already, the Board has acted to fund both pediatric emergency departments. These plans have been so exciting, that Ballad Health received a $1.2 million pledge from a family which has long supported childrens services in the region. The pediatric emergency room at Bristol Regional Medical Center will be named the J.D. Niswonger Family Pediatric Emergency Department, which will be affiliated with the Niswonger Childrens Hospital. This comprehensive proposal involves realigning the Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Holston Valley Medical Center and focusing those services at Niswonger Childrens Hospital, the regions state-designated perinatal center. These pediatric enhancements also involve investing in new pediatric subspecialties and connecting all of Ballad Healths hospitals to Niswonger through telemedicine.SUPPORTED COMMUNITY INITIATIVES AND ORGANIZATIONS- During the year, Ballad Health supported more than 300 organizations in the Appalachian Highlands of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. That support totaled more than $5 million in the form of sponsorships, non-cash contributions, community education and direct community benefit. Ballad Health donated 30 advanced cardiac monitors to Sullivan County Emergency Medical Services to enhance Ballad Healths regional trauma network by enabling EMS to transmit patients vital signs to hospital emergency departments and cardiac catheterization labs while still en route. The new monitors also allow emergency providers to monitor oxygen and pulmonary issues in addition to the EKG, which can improve treatment for patients with emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. The donation saved Sullivan County approximately $1.2 million, as the departments current 12-lead EKG monitors are 11 years old. CHARITY CARE CONTRIBUTIONS - For 2019, Ballad Health provided more than $37 million in charity care and more than $12 million in subsidized health services for patients. Following the merger, Ballad Health increased the threshold for patients to qualify for charity care from 200% of the federal poverty level to 225% of the federal poverty level, and provides significant discounts for people up to 450% of the federal poverty level. ACCOUNTABLE CARE ORGANIZATION GENERATES SAVINGS FOR SIXTH CONSECTIVE YEAR - Ballad Healths accountable care organization, AnewCare Collaborative, is one of only 18 in the country to generate savings for federal taxpayers for the entire six years of the program.As the regions first accountable care organization, it has generated more than $54M in total savings since its creation in 2012. For the 2018 performance year, AnewCare generated $7.2M in savings. The ACOs savings rate was 7.1% better than Medicares benchmark. Since the merger, AnewCare has achieved a 94.4% quality score, a substantial increase from the previous year and among the highest in the history of the collaborative.MEDICAL EDUCATION - Ballad Health continues to offer free Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) classes, which are open to the public. The CNA course is approved and regulated by the Tennessee State Board of Nursing. The training opportunity can lead to job opportunities for those who complete the program. 62 percent of the students trained by Ballad are hired upon graduation. Ballad offers the course free of charge and participants who successfully complete the course meet criteria to sit for the state certification examination. The program includes classroom sessions followed by clinical experience. Clinical hours are conducted at various Ballad Health facilities. There is no requirement for participants to work for Ballad Health upon completion of the program. During FY19, Ballad Healths CNA training program graduated 25 students, each of whom completed 60 hours of classroom participation and 40 hours of clinical participation.This year, the Nurse Intern II program, overseen by Ballad Healths Clinical Education team, completed its summer 2018 session with the largest group ever 134 nurse interns successfully completed the program. The program pairs each nurse intern with an RN preceptor on a designated hospital unit. The interns work with their preceptor to gain valuable clinical skills to assist them with their transition from nursing student to licensed nurse. There is no obligation for the interns to work for Ballad Health although many of them choose to continue employment. Interns who complete the program become a Nurse Intern III. Once the interns graduate from nursing school, they become a Nurse Intern IV, and then once they pass the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) they become an RN. RESEARCH the Ballad Health research department serves as the central office for multi-specialty research oversight to our healthcare system. In addition to providing full spectrum support for studies generated and managed by the research department, the department provides oversight for studies generated by external groups. The research department has participated in several large-scale, multi-center trials with a high subject retention rate and sponsor/monitoring rating. Oversight services include administrative, legal, regulatory support, internal service arrangement and financial management. In addition, since teaching and continuing education play a large role within the organization, research staff participate in conferences/webinars and conduct a monthly research orientation session. The department maintains reportable metrics and financial reports on a quarterly basis. The focus for principal investigators is mostly in therapeutic areas such as oncology, neuro/trauma/ortho, pharmacology, endocrinology, pediatrics, and cardiology. A variety of studies include different designs that may include, but are not limited to, pharmaceutical/investigational trials, retrospective medical chart reviews and registry studies. The research department is dedicated to: providing consistent oversight and management of clinical research performed at all Ballad facilities,ensuring regulatory compliance and fiscal responsibility, andcreating a research culture across Ballad facilities |
| OTHER NOTABLE EVENTS AND AWARDS | Ballad Health, along with American Cancer Society, was one of the sponsors for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event.Ballad Health hosted a Food Drive to support Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee and Feeding America of Southwest Virginia. The food drive coincided with National Food Bank Day. People struggle with having enough to eat throughout the year, so this drive was to help eliminate hunger in our community. The donations go to local food pantries and a Senior Grocery Program.Ballad Healths Project Employment Hope has been honored by Disability Rights Tennessee with a Freedom Award for corporate employment leadership. Project Employment Hope is an employment assistance program offered by Ballad Healths human resources (HR) department. The program helps people in need those who are chronically unemployed, underemployed, disabled, living below the poverty line and/or homeless by providing, at no cost to the individual, access to employment counseling, guidance, training and job opportunities with Ballad Health. Members of the Ballad Health HR team work closely with a state program, Vocational Rehabilitation (part of Tennessee Department of Human Services), to assist with job placement of people with disabilities throughout the hospital system. Project Employment Hope includes providing referral candidates assistance with overcoming barriers to finding a job. Ballad Health was recognized for the successful integration of retirement plans after merger of Mountain States and Wellmont Health System:1.Pensions & Investments: 2019 Eddy Award 1st place, Plan Transitions2.Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA) a.2019 Signature Award Winner for excellence in employee communications b.2nd place Ballad Health with Lincoln Financial Group, Plan ChangesBallad Healths security, safety & emergency management force has been recognized by Security magazine as part of the 2018 Security 500 rankings. Security magazine remarked: We are recognizing your organization for your safety and security policies and efforts to keep patients, staff and visitors safe. Our team has been monitoring your work in this area, and we wanted to recognize you.Lynn Krutak, chief financial officer for Ballad Health, has been recognized on the prestigious list of 10 Women Leaders to Watch in Healthcare in 2019 by Modern Healthcare. The publication is a leading source of healthcare business and policy news, research and information across the nation. Each year Modern Healthcare selects Top 25 Women Leaders, accompanied by 10 to Watch accomplished, rising women executives who are advancing healthcare. MedAxiom (the nations leading cardiovascular community) selected Dr. Jerry Blackwell to serve as its president. The nations leading community of cardiovascular providers, thought leaders and innovators, MedAxiom is a subsidiary of the American College of Cardiology. Blackwell, who has practiced cardiology in Kingsport since 1995, and previously served as chief executive officer of the Wellmont CVA Heart Institute, served as chief clinical officer of Ballad Health during FY2019. Trish Tanner, assistant vice president and chief pharmacy officer, was honored by the Tennessee Hospital Association (THA) with a 2018 Award of Excellence for Patient Safety Leadership. This award recognizes an individual who has taken extraordinary and innovative steps to make patient safety and quality a top priority in their organization. Tanner serves as chairperson for Ballad Healths Opioid Taskforce and has been a leading voice in the fight against opioid addiction. |
| PART lll, Program Service Accomplishments | Ballad Health (Ballad) is a tax-exempt entity and the parent corporation of both Mountain States Health Alliance (MSHA) and Wellmont Health System (WHS). The two healthcare systems came together on February 1, 2018 as a result of a merger approved by both Tennessee and Virginia Departments of Health. Ballad operates under a Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA) in Tennessee and a Cooperative Agreement (CA) in Virginia. Pursuant to the COPA and CA, MSHA and WHS are required to fulfill the obligations, commitments and covenants set forth in the COPA. Such obligations include that Ballad Health shall meet, over the ten-year period beginning July 1, 2018, established minimum spending criteria on initiatives for expanded access to healthcare services, health research and graduate medical education, population health improvement, and a region-wide health information exchange. The full text of the COPA can be found on the Tennessee Department of Health's website, while the CA can be found on the Virginia Department of Health's website.Ballad Health is a healthcare delivery system serving 1.2 million residents from 29 counties in Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, Northwest North Carolina, and Southeastern Kentucky. Ballad operates 3,162 licensed beds in 21 hospitals, including a dedicated children's hospital, community hospitals, three critical access hospitals, a behavioral health hospital, an addiction treatment facility, long-term care facilities, home care and hospice services, retail pharmacies, outpatient services and a comprehensive medical management corporation. Form 990 for MSHA includes seven wholly-owned hospitals including a childrens hospital and a behavioral health hospital; four others, majority owned by MSHA, each file a separate return. Laughlin Memorial Hospital, wholly-owned by MSHA, also files a separate return. Form 990 for WHS includes five wholly-owned hospitals; two others, also wholly-owned, each file a separate return. |
| Software ID: | 18007218 |
| Software Version: | 2018v3.1 |