Nashville law firm Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis LLP recently received the Pro Bono Leadership Award from the Legal Services Corporation Board of Directors, the national organization that is a key funder of Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands.

The award honors Waller’s work with the Volunteer Lawyers Program, managed by Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands.

Waller has provided pro bono support to the Legal Aid Society since 1985. In October 2015, Waller expanded its role in the Volunteer Lawyers Program by offering free legal services to victims of domestic violence. Through a partnership with Metro Nashville Office of Family Safety and Legal Aid Society, the Civil Legal Advocate Program was launched in 2015 to represent victims at Order of Protection hearings.

The project refers high-risk victims identified by OFS advocates to the Legal Aid Society for placement with volunteer lawyers. Since then, more than 40 Waller lawyers have donated their time to provide representation to more than 125 victims of domestic violence.

Also through the Volunteer Lawyers Program, Waller lawyers and paralegals staff regular legal clinics in which they provide advice to Legal Aid Society clients on wills, estates, collections and homeownership issues. At these clinics, the firm’s lawyers and paralegals have provided advice to more than 180 individuals.

Predators, Sports Fund to hold equipment drive

Do you have an extra hockey stick, set of golf clubs, soccer shin guards, a basketball or a football you would like to donate and help make a difference in the lives of Middle Tennessee’s at-risk children?

It’s time once again to “Play It Forward” as The Sports Fund and the Nashville Predators hockey team will host a sports equipment drive at the Nashville Predators-Winnipeg Jets hockey game set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 13 at Bridgestone Arena.

The Sports Fund, an initiative of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, will be on site outside and just inside the entrances to Bridgestone Arena from 6-7:30 p.m. to collect donations of new and gently used sports equipment as well as monetary donations of cash or check.

Collecting the sports equipment and donations will be volunteers from the Belmont University Graduate Sports Administration program.

Checks may be made payable to The Sports Fund, and collections will be sorted and distributed to local nonprofits that fit the Fund’s mission.

Information: TheSportsFund.org or Scott O’Neal at [email protected] or 615-321-4939.

First Tennessee gives $250K to Ed. Foundation

First Tennessee Bank and the Nashville Public Education Foundation have announced the bank’s contribution of $250,000 over two years to the NPEF’s programs that support student success in Metro Nashville Public Schools. The contribution was made as a part of First Tennessee’s commitment to investing in enhancing student performance in Middle Tennessee.

Through this partnership, First Tennessee Bank will become the title sponsor of the 2018 Public Schools Hall of Fame event. This event raises funds to improve the area’s public schools and honors community leaders who champion the importance of high quality public education.

The First Tennessee contribution will also support Innovation Fund initiatives aimed at increasing the percentage of public school graduates who attend and complete post-secondary education.

AAC Holdings purchases AdCare

Brentwood-based AAC Holdings, Inc., a provider of inpatient substance abuse treatment services, has announced the $85 million acquisition of AdCare, Inc.

AdCare, founded in 1986, is a leading provider of addiction treatment in New England with approximately 8,000 hospital and residential admissions and over 116,000 outpatient visits per year.

AdCare’s facilities include a 114-bed hospital for substance abuse treatment, including detoxification and rehabilitation services, and five outpatient centers in Massachusetts and a 59-bed residential treatment center and two outpatient centers in Rhode Island. The acquisition also includes the purchase of 1-800-ALCOHOL, a nationally recognized referral phone line, and other toll-free numbers that together generate approximately 50,000 calls per year.

Avondale Partners to join Hilliard Lyons

Avondale Partners, a Nashville-based wealth management and investment banking firm, has joined forces with Hilliard Lyons, one of the nation’s oldest wealth management firms.

Hilliard Lyons has announced it will combine its existing Nashville-based wealth management team with Avondale’s wealth management unit.

They will operate in Nashville under the Hilliard Lyons name, from Avondale’s current office location.

Both Hilliard Lyons and Avondale support clients with a wide range of complementary wealth management services, including investment, education, and retirement planning; access to trust and estate services; business succession planning; and advice to retirement plans.

Avondale’s Investment Banking group will complement Hilliard Lyons’ existing Investment Banking division. Avondale’s healthcare-focused investment banking unit will remain in Nashville, while Hilliard Lyons’ Investment Banking division will remain at the firm’s headquarters in Louisville and in Cincinnati. The two divisions will operate as tandem business units.

Trilliant health makes strategic moves

Nashville-based Trilliant Health, a health care technology, data and marketing company, has announced the release of an analytics platform as a service for intelligent patient acquisition.

Trilliant also has announced that Aegis Health, Clariture Health and Expression Health Analytics will now operate under the Trilliant Health brand.

Trilliant Health was created in June 2017 through the merger of Aegis Health and Clariture Health and expanded with the addition of Expression Health Analytics in October.

Applied Health announces bMetrix screening

Nashville-based Applied Health Analytics, LLC has launched bMetrix, a proprietary screening application that automates the collection of biometric data, allowing for clinicians and wellness screeners to accurately gather information at onsite and retail clinics, screenings and health fairs.

bMetrixs supports most popular biometric diagnostic devices including CardioChek and Cholestech LDX.

The application was beta-tested with Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Dayani Center for Health & Wellness and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

The immediate collection and processing of biometric values, and reporting provides the real-time, point-of-care diagnostics and intervention opportunities for employers, community organizations and health plans that want to strengthen the impact of their health initiatives. bMetrix permits program participants to immediately see their results, understand their risks, receive advice from a health coach and learn about community partners.

Data provided by bMetrix serves as the foundation for organizational sponsored well-being and chronic-care management programs.

Franklin company tops for volunteerism

Fortune has named Franklin’s Crowe Horwath as a best workplace for giving back and volunteerism.

The certified public accounting firm was included in a list based on feedback from more than 380,000 employees at Great Place to Work-Certified organizations.

Companies on the list were selected based on employees’ assessment of how proud they are of their impact on the community, the difference they feel they make and whether their work has special meaning. When selecting the organizations on the list, Great Place to Work considered paid time off for volunteering and the extent to which the organizations contribute to community and charitable causes.

In addition to supporting its people’s hands-on involvement by encouraging volunteer work and providing paid time off for volunteering, Crowe’s overall charitable giving aligns contributions with the volunteer efforts of its people.

Crowe continues to organize emergency relief donations and match gifts made by personnel in response to natural disasters and tragic events. In 2017, Crowe and its personnel donated nearly $250,000 to the American Red Cross to help the people affected by natural disasters, including Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria and the California wildfires.

HealthTrust, Belmont form pharmacy pact

HealthTrust, a Nashville-based health care performance improvement company and group purchasing organization, has announced a joint program with the Belmont University College of Pharmacy’s Christy Houston Foundation Drug Information Center.

The program will enhance drug information services for members of the GPO’s Pharmacy Services Group. Participants will be employees of the drug information center and PharmD candidates of the University’s College of Pharmacy.

The professionals will field inquiries from HealthTrust members and distribute information about drug identification and availability, class review comparisons, new drug monographs, dosage administration, drug interactions and adverse effects.