KINGSPORT – Meaningful work by Wellmont Health System’s board of directors is enabling the group to fully explore the best path forward for the organization. Roger Leonard, the board’s chairman, said the panel continues its examination of Wellmont’s options, a process that will likely extend into the new year. With the holiday season in full swing and the need for the board to further review information it ...

"Hole in the wall gang" continues press for Wellmont-Mountain States merger talks By Jeff Keeling An Aug. 13 email from the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce titled “A Message from Our Mayor: Community Forum Concerning the Future of Local Hospitals” marked the beginning of a high-profile effort to influence Wellmont’s merger strategy. Since that day, and particularly following an Aug. 18 community forum in King ...

Two sides "never stopped talking" after 2011 rift By Scott Robertson Photos by Scott Robertson Almost three years to the day after Mountain States Health Alliance and CIGNA announced they would no longer be doing business together, the two companies have reached agreement on a new deal that will once again allow Cigna customers to access Mountain States facilities and services at in-network rates. The three ...

By Jeff Keeling Manufacturer NN Inc. will keep its headquarters in Johnson City as it expands home office headcount to around 200, officials announced this morning. “To support our aggressive global growth plan, we must expand our corporate infrastructure with people, systems and brick and mortar,” NN CEO Rich Holder said while standing in front of the five-story 60,000-square-foot former SunTrust building ...

By Tammy Childress and Jeff Keeling A contractor preparing The Falls retail site has agreed to accept delayed payments as the City of Bristol, Va. works toward securing additional funds through revenue bonds, and the anchor tenant, Cabela’s, has accepted a lower incentive amount. Bristol’s Industrial Development Authority (IDA) and Economic Development Committee (EDC) met Friday morning in called session re ...

KINGSPORT – Wellmont Health System is about halfway through its strategic options analysis, a process that has yielded positive comments about the organization’s clinical quality and low cost structure. Earlier this year, Wellmont issued a request for proposals from organizations that might want to align in some fashion with the health system. Nine health systems submitted a proposal, but three of them are ...

First Tennessee Bank has boosted its state-leading market share with a new deal to purchase 13 branches and four remote ATMs from Bank of America in Tennessee. The banks expect the purchase of the branches, including those in Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol and Greeneville to close later this year, pending regulatory approval. The Memphis-based bank will add approximately $660 million of deposits. First Te ...

Heritage Glass to begin production by July By Jeff Keeling State and local officials made the announcement April 29: Local investors are purchasing and restarting the Blue Ridge glass plant that AGC North America mothballed in late 2012. The move by the newly formed “Heritage Glass Co.” could create 120 jobs by mid-summer and nearly 250 within five years. Ten private investors, the majority of them former A ...

By Jeff Keeling Bill Haslam’s unveiling of the “Tennessee Promise” proposal during his Feb. 3 State of the State address drew broad attention for its boldness, but it wasn’t a shock to Northeast State Community College President Dr. Janice Gilliam. “I was excited that it was as far-reaching as it was,” Gilliam said of the proposal to make community college tuition-free for Tennesseans coming directly out of ...

By Jeff Keeling Judging from a wide-ranging interview on just his 86th day on the job, Alan Levine doesn’t appear to have wasted any time in his first 90 days as CEO of Mountain States Health Alliance (MSHA). Then again, with hospital systems facing the twin challenges of declining admissions and reimbursement cuts as the full weight of healthcare reform bears down, Levine does not enjoy the luxury of a len ...