ABINGDON, Va. – Get ready to put on your Sunday best and kick up your heels for a good cause – the fifth annual Boots & Bow Ties event is coming up Saturday, May 19.

Hosted by Johnston Memorial Hospital Foundation and presented by First Bank & Trust Company, this year’s Boots & Bow Ties raises funds to increase technology, equipment and programs that support the health of infants in Washington County, Virginia.

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Mountain States Health Alliance, a subsidiary of Ballad Health, is one of America’s top performing health systems, according to a review published in Modern Healthcare, the lead industry trade magazine for healthcare. The analysis was published in the April 23 issue of the magazine.  

KINGSPORT, Tenn. – Camp Caterpillar features the hallmarks of a traditional day camp – kids, crafts and other activities. But beyond the fun and games, something else happens: Grieving hearts find hope and healing.

Camp Caterpillar is through Ballad Health’s hospice program, and is designed for children, teenagers and families who have experienced the death of a loved one. The free, one-day camp utilizes social workers, counselors and nurses who help participants address their grief, learn coping strategies and share memories.

Agency praises “strong strategic vision, best practices” in granting highest credit ratings in nearly two decades

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – S&P Global Ratings today issued its first credit rating report on Ballad Health, citing the newly created system for a “strong strategic vision,” alignment of “best practices” for integration, and the strength of the management team, as the agency granted the highest credit ratings issued for a health system in the region in nearly two decades. The rating agency issued an “A-” rating with a stable outlook.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Get ready to lace up your running shoes and learn all about improving health and wellness at the Power of Health Expo and Power of Play 5K.

The event will be held Saturday, April 28, from 8 a.m. to noon at Bristol Regional Medical Center. The expo portion will take place in the hospital’s conference center. Promptly at 9 a.m., the 5K will begin outside the hospital’s main entrance.

BRISTOL, Va. – Eleven weeks after giving birth to her third child, Stephanie Brown was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer – at only 31 years old.

“It was supposed to be such a happy time, but our world was turned upside down,” said Brown, who received all her cancer care from Ballad Health facilities in Bristol. “Since I was still breastfeeding, we initially thought my symptoms were mastitis. But after an ultrasound, we found out I had a mass in my breast and in my lymph nodes.”

ABINGDON, Va. – With more than 25 years’ experience in healthcare, Linda Shepherd has been appointed as Johnston Memorial Hospital’s chief nursing officer.

In this role, Shepherd will be responsible for the overall quality of nursing care at Johnston Memorial, which includes its surgical, orthopedic, rehabilitation and stroke services, as well as the emergency department and family birth center.

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Nikki Vanburen has accepted the position of chief nursing officer at Franklin Woods Community Hospital and Woodridge Hospital. She has served as chief nursing officer at Johnston Memorial Hospital since 2014, and was with Mountain States for 17 years before the organization merged with Wellmont Health System to become Ballad Health.

CLINTWOOD, Va. – Green Oak Behavioral Health continues to grow to meet the region’s needs.

The inpatient psychiatry unit recently welcomed Shirley Farmer, advanced registered nurse practitioner, as the program’s new nurse practitioner.

BRISTOL, Va. – At only 10 years old, Zhoie Monk is making a difference in so many lives.

When her mother was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2017 and began receiving chemotherapy, Zhoie saw how simple acts of kindness made her mom smile. That inspired her to begin collecting donations to put together special care packages for other cancer patients at Ballad Health’s cancer treatment center in Bristol, which is where her mother received her chemotherapy.