By Scott Robertson Irecently had one of those life-affirming experiences that can make one square one’s shoulders against life’s winds and move forward with a renewed sense of faith and confidence. I served as a regional selection committee member for the Roan Scholars program at East Tennessee State University. The Roan is a rare, and in my opinion, wonderful program that fills an important niche in the ma ...

Photo above: Logan McCabe of Bristol Motor Speedway and Steve Smith of K-VA-T Food Stores (Food City) announced a campaign to raise funds for Sevier County disaster relief. Photo by Scott Robertson By Scott Robertson The wildfires that swept through areas of Sevier County, Tenn., including parts of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park took a tremendous toll in terms of lives ...

Photo above: Cutting the ribbon – (L to R) Chairman Emeritus Scott Niswonger,  State Representative David Hawk, Sr. Vice President Rodney Bell, and Commissioner of Economic and Community Development Randy Boyd. Photo by Scott Robertson By Scott Robertson In early 2015, Greeneville, Tenn.-based Forward Air had outgrown its corporate headquarters at the Greeneville – Greene County Municipal Airport. When the ...

By Jeff Keeling Whatever one might choose to call it – a burr in the saddle, a thorn in the side or something else – Wellmont Health System has felt the irritating effects of a growth in “observation” patients for several years. Until the latest fiscal quarter, that is. Following a thorough assessment of the factors behind its rising ratio of admitted patients who were given observation rather than traditio ...

COMMITMENTS CHART   Commitment: In order to ensure pricing is not increased as a result of the elimination of inpatient competition for the majority of consumers covered by third party commercial insurance, pricing will increase by less with the merger than if the merger were not to occur. For all Principal Payers1, the New Health System will reduce existing commercial contracting for fixed rate increa ...

Click here to read Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health Systems' response to the Federal Trade Commission's comment to the Southwest Virginia Health Authority: response-to-ftc-comments-submitted-to-swvha ...

Click here to read the full text of the FTC's September 30 comment to the Southwest Virginia Health Authority: ftc-letter-to-svha-october-2016 ...

Photo above: Geotech studies occurred at the industrial park site this summer. Photo by Scott Robertson By Jeff Keeling The Washington County Economic Development Council (EDC) is on the cusp of two significant achievements that have been a while in coming – one organizational, the other developmental. At the EDC’s Oct. 20 board meeting, members heard updates on both. A partially grant-funded project to gra ...

Photo above: Garland at his desk.  Photos by Scott Robertson Matt Garland has hit the ground running as the new president/CEO of the Greene County Partnership. Garland, who has worked in Northeast Tennessee for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development for the last eight years, already knows the people, places and things that will make the difference in Greene County’s efforts to attrac ...

Photo above: Mayors Dan Eldridge of Washington County and Richard Venable of Sullivan County announce the eight-county Work Ready Community effort at the headquarters of the First Tennessee Development District. Photo by Scott Robertson By Scott Robertson In a moment months in the making, the mayors of Washington and Sullivan counties stood together in the First Tennessee Development District rose garden Oc ...