37604, April 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Nationwide publication Fashionable Healthcare acknowledged Ballad Well being’s Appalachian Highlands Care Community with its annual Innovators Award, which “recognizes leaders and organizations driving innovation that improves care, achieves measurable results and contributes to clinical and financial goals.”
Launched in 2021 as a inhabitants well being initiative by Ballad Well being, the Appalachian Highlands Care Community works to attach uninsured sufferers with a big selection of healthcare, social providers and assist at decreased or no value. The community depends on companion organizations throughout the Ballad Well being service space in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia to satisfy sufferers’ wants no matter their capability to pay.
“The work of Appalachian Highlands Care Network is a powerful example of what happens when people and organizations come together to meet a need,” mentioned Ballad Well being Chief Inhabitants Well being Officer Todd Norris. “By aligning providers, community partners and resources around a shared commitment to access and early intervention, we’ve created a sustainable, scalable model for rural healthcare. One of our NorthStar Goals at Ballad Health is to become a national model for improving rural healthcare, so it is an honor to have our approach to charity care and the work of our teams and partners recognized at a national level, and we believe this model can serve as a blueprint for other health systems facing similar challenges across rural America.”
Fashionable Healthcare’s Innovators Awards acknowledge organizations and leaders for his or her distinctive strategy to fixing issues throughout the sector. Earlier group honorees embrace Johns Hopkins Drugs, Kids’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Mount Sinai Well being System.
With assist from companions together with Appalachian Mountain Undertaking Entry, Therapeutic Palms, Pals in Want and Appalachian Miles for Smiles, the community hyperlinks sufferers to providers starting from main and specialty care, dental cleanings and preventive screenings to monetary counseling and housing help.
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Since its launch, Ballad Well being’s Appalachian Highlands Care Community has coordinated greater than $121 million in donated look after uninsured sufferers and enrolled greater than 12,000 contributors. For each $1 invested by Ballad Well being, this system conservatively reduces healthcare prices by $3, serving to maintain rural healthcare entry.
Care is coordinated by way of a partnership with nonprofit Appalachian Mountain Undertaking Entry, permitting program purchasers to obtain extra proactive look after situations starting from most cancers to coronary heart illness, offered by their community of medical suppliers and together with all Ballad Well being Medical Associates suppliers.
“Our patients often experience food and housing insecurity, lack of transportation, chronic disease and other complex needs which, when combined with a lack of insurance, create significant barriers and stress,” mentioned Undertaking Entry Government Director Andréa Brady Verzi. “Through their work, the Appalachian Highlands Care Network has been a strong partner in helping prevent these patients from falling through the cracks.”
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Based on a community health worker model, the initiative is active in all 20 Ballad Health hospitals and every Ballad Health Medical Associates primary care office, where patients who meet eligibility requirements – residents with incomes at or below 225% of the federal poverty level – are identified and given the option to enroll in the program.
“Often, uninsured patients show up to our hospitals and clinics with complex medical and social needs,” said Dr. Paula Masters, Ballad Health’s chief health disparities officer. “Through Appalachian Highlands Care Network, we are working to identify needs earlier and ensure the people of the Appalachian Highlands receive the right care at the right time – without the added stress and uncertainty that comes from not being able to afford the care they deserve.”
A formal program evaluation of 4,926 participants showed a 28% reduction in preventable inpatient utilization and a 56% increase in medically appropriate care. Appalachian Highlands Care Network partners like Appalachian Miles for Smiles, which offers dental and vision care, often see patients who are enrolled in the program and may have been referred to their services by a Ballad Health community health navigator.
“Our collaboration with Ballad Health’s Appalachian Highlands Care Network team enhances the care of patients, providing mammograms and women’s health during our clinics with follow-up care,” said Appalachian Miles for Smiles Executive Director Michelle Campbell. “There is unity, communication and compassion in partnering with Appalachian Highlands Care Network, all for the good of patients. It is a blessing to all.”
“The Appalachian Highlands Care Network has bridged critical gaps in care for the underinsured and uninsured patients served by Friends in Need Health Center across eight counties in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia,” said Trey Darnell, Friends in Need Health Center executive director. “With the support of this Ballad Health network, our clinic serves as a true healthcare home, providing medical and dental services and enabling more than 7,000 visits in 2025.”
Appalachian Highlands Care Network partners often offer services at flat rates or based on a sliding scale, allowing them to treat patients regardless of their ability to pay.
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“At Healing Hands Health, our mission is to glorify Christ by providing quality, community supported care to individuals who are underserved in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia,” said Executive Director Helen Scott. “Our partnership with Appalachian Highlands Care Network is deeply meaningful, especially through our embedded navigator’s presence in our clinic. She works side-by-side with our providers, community health workers and support staff to remove barriers and help patients move toward better health. Together, we are strengthening care for our community in ways that truly make a difference.”
The Appalachian Highlands Care Network encompasses 128 referral sites, including eight non-hospital referral sites with embedded navigators and 435 partners within the Unite Us network, an AI-enabled technology platform that connects healthcare, government and community-based organizations to coordinate social care.
Embedded navigators are located at the Church Hill Health Department, Johnson City Community Health Clinic, Appalachian Mountain Project Access, Overmountain Recovery, Healing Hands Health, Friends in Need, Crossroads Medical Mission and Mel Leaman Clinic.
To view program details or learn more, visit BalladHealth.org/resources/Appalachian-Highlands-Care-Network.
###About Ballad Well being
Ballad Well being is an built-in group well being enchancment group serving 29 counties of the Appalachian Highlands in Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, Northwest North Carolina and Southeast Kentucky. Our system of 20 hospitals, post-acute care and behavioral well being providers, and a big multi-specialty group doctor apply works intently with an energetic impartial medical group and group stakeholders to enhance the well being and well-being of shut to 1 million individuals. By main within the adoption of value-based funds, addressing health-related social wants, funding medical and well being techniques analysis and committing to long-term investments in sturdy kids and households in our area, Ballad Well being is striving to change into a nationwide mannequin for rural well being and healthcare. Study extra at www.BalladHealth.org.
Appalachian Highlands Care Community Innovators Awards
