Levine answers concerns from commissioners about nurse pay and lack of birthing services in Elizabethton
Published 1:18 pm Tuesday, April 18, 2023
- Ballad Health CEO and President Alan Levine shared an update about the system’s 21 hospitals on Monday with the Carter County Commission but also answered concerns about nurse pay and a lack of birthing services in Elizabethton.
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BY ROBERT SORRELL
Star Correspondent
The chairman of Ballad Health shared an update about the system’s 21 hospitals on Monday with the Carter County Commission but also answered concerns about nurse pay and a lack of birthing services in Elizabethton.
CEO Alan Levine told commissioners that Sycamore Shoals Hospital in Elizabethton remains open as other rural hospitals have closed around the country. He said more than 100 hospitals have closed in recent years. He also said Ballad Health hospitals have shorter wait times than others.
“Every single community in this region still has its hospital,” Levine said. “That’s not true in 150 communities in this country.”
Ballad owns and operates 21 hospitals in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, including Sycamore Shoals Hospital.
Commissioner Nancy Brown said she believes nurses at Sycamore Shoals Hospital deserve the same pay as those at Johnson City Medical Center.
“I don’t agree,” said Levine, who added that Johnson City Medical Center is a tertiary hospital that cares for the sickest patients.
When patients are severely ill and require additional care, Levine said they are transferred to Johnson City.
“If there’s not enough nurses there, they can’t get there,” Levine said.
The health system CEO said Johnson City Medical Center must be fully staffed in order to care for those that need trauma care. He noted that there is currently a “massive nurse shortage.”
Commissioner Angie Odom spoke to Levine about the lack of a birthing center at Sycamore Shoals and said it is difficult for some women in rural areas to go to Johnson City.
Levine said services are available 10 miles away at Johnson City Medical Center. He said services should not be “diluted.” He added that the Johnson City hospital has a neonatal intensive care unit.
Levine said he would like to speak more with Odom, who operates the TLC Community Center and Abortion Alternatives and Women’s Center.
During Monday’s meeting, commissioners also learned Benny Lyons, the county’s landfill director, has taken medical leave until late May. The Landfill Committee met briefly before the meeting to name Steven Sammons as the interim director.
The commission approved a motion to move money from the landfill fund balance to a salary line item to cover overtime expenses up to $5,000 while Lyons is absent.
Sammons has been a Carter County employee for seven years and will oversee the operations at the landfill while Lyons is on medical leave.
The commission also approved a motion to authorize the Carter County Finance Department to consult with Blackburn, Childers and Steagall to correct audit findings at a cost not to exceed $14,000.
In March, the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office reported that it had found “significant weaknesses” in the finance department.
