Nashville-based HealthTrust, a performance improvement company for health care, and Community Hospital Corporation have completed a long-term partnership agreement.

CHC is an owner and manager of community hospitals throughout the U.S. Based in Plano, Texas, the nonprofit organization owns, manages, consults with or advises more than 100 acute-care and post-acute hospitals and health care facilities.

The contract renewal with HealthTrust preserves the support structure and resources these community hospitals and non-acute providers have come to depend on to manage the escalating costs of health care delivery.

Ed Jones, HealthTrust president and CEO adds, “As a trusted channel partner, CHC fulfills an important mission serving the needs of community providers. We are very proud to extend our relationship and continue a collaboration that delivers true operating performance value.”

Hastings Architecture turns library into HQ

Hastings Architecture has relocated its headquarters to the repurposed Nashville Public Library at 225 Polk Avenue, giving the building new life as a creative workspace.

Designed by architect Bruce Crabtree and completed in 1965, the building was home to the main branch of the public library for more than 35 years. After the library was relocated in 2001, the site fell into a state of disrepair. The partners bought the building in 2017 with the intent to restore the original structure and repurpose it as office space for companies in the creative sector.

In addition to housing Hastings and United Talent Agency, 225 Polk also will provide office space for residential architecture and interior design firm McAlpine.

Hastings occupies 24,000 square feet of the building, with a new studio for the firm’s team of more than 85 architects, interior designers and planners.

Belmont Law ranks 6th for first-time bar passage

Belmont Law finished sixth in the nation for first-time bar passage rates for the 2019 calendar year, statistics published by the American Bar Association reveal.

Joining Belmont Law in the top 10 are stalwarts Harvard, Yale, Duke and the University of Virginia. Of the 80 alumni who took the bar last year, 77 Belmont graduates passed the exam on their first attempt for 96.25% success rate, soundly besting the statewide average of 80.56%.

The national average for first-time test takers for 2019 was 79.64%. Belmont graduates performed significantly higher than students from most of the nearly 200 law schools reporting to the ABA.

In addition, Belmont alumni are finding meaningful work with the Class of 2018 scoring the school’s best-ever employment rate of 96%.

Community Foundation hits major milestone

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has reached the $1 billion mark in giving to nonprofits in 29 years of community outreach.

“It’s funny, but in 1990 when we began and in 1991 when we got our 501c3 status, we never talked about any goals,’’ says Ellen Lehman, president and one of the founders of the Foundation. “We never even discussed how much The Community Foundation might one day accomplish for our community.

“We never set any bars – we just said thank you,” Lehman continues. “And over the years, we have gotten to say thank-you thousands of times.”

It was Lehman’s friend, Ida Cooney, the founding executive director of the then HCA Foundation (known today as the Frist Foundation,) who shed light on the fact that the Nashville region was one of the last major metropolitan areas without a community foundation in place for those with charitable hearts. It was Cooney who brought together others – such as Ted Lazenby, Alyne Massey, Betty Brown, George Bullard, Elizabeth Queener, Richard Eskind, Judy Liff Barker and Ben Rechter – who had known the value a community foundation could offer.

Tens of thousands of grants have filtered through its doors, impacting organizations working tirelessly on a broad range of needs ranging from arts to zoology.

MTSU adds bachelor’s degree in data science

Middle Tennessee State University recently announced its Tennessee Data Initiative, including a new bachelor’s degree in data science as well as a graduate certificate geared toward working professionals in the emerging field.

The initiative includes the pursuit of innovative programming and research projects in the emerging field of “big data.”

With entry-level salaries average $70,000 to $85,000, “data scientists” fill the critical role within business and industry of analyzing and interpreting the mountains of data that decision-makers need to maintain a competitive edge.

Leading that effort is Charlie Apigian, director of MTSU’s Data Science Institute, whom the NTC named its Data Scientist of the Year last month.

Apigian said the new degree will create much-needed data scientists across numerous professions — from tech to health care to manufacturing and everything in between — while the certificate opportunities will “upskill” the region’s workforce for those looking to become “data-driven professionals.”

Apigian helped MTSU launch the Data Science Institute in 2018 to get an academic foothold in the burgeoning area. He’s since pursued real-world projects such as the Hytch ride-sharing app and the Special Kids nonprofit while sponsoring various “hackathons” for hands-on learning and collaboration throughout the year.

Pinnacle among best companies for workers

Pinnacle Financial Partners placed 14th on the recent list of the 100 Best Companies to Work for.

The company, founded in Nashville, moved up 13 spots, its highest ranking, from the 2019 list.

This is Pinnacle’s fourth consecutive appearance on the list. It joins companies like Hilton, Cisco and Salesforce in having one of the most engaging and rewarding workplace cultures in the U.S.

Pinnacle also has been recently recognized as of the country’s Best Banks to Work For and a Best Workplace for millennials.

6,229 acres added to Cumberland Trail

Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park is growing by 6,229 acres. The land – known as the Lone Star property – will support wildlife habitat, native ecology and additional public recreation opportunities.

Conserving Lone Star was a high priority for the Tennessee State Parks system due to its proximity to the Cumberland Trail. The Conservation Fund purchased the land in November 2019 and held it until TDEC and its partners could acquire it.

The land was officially transferred Feb. 20 to TDEC, which will use it to develop a significant segment for the Cumberland Trail that will connect Ozone Falls State Natural Area to existing state-owned land.

When completed, the Cumberland Trail will extend more than 300 miles from its northern terminus in Cumberland Gap National Historical Park to its southern terminus at the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park just outside Chattanooga.

UDig adds branch office in Franklin

UDig has opened an office in Franklin and hired Meg Chamblee and Matt Dean to build the Tennessee branch.

The firm has nearly 20 years of experience in delivering tailored technical solutions to clients through software engineering, data enablement and data science.

Chamblee and Dean have more than 15 years in information technology, more than 10 of those together. They have been in Nashville for the last six years, where together they successfully helped build an IT Consulting operation from the ground up while serving as directors for a multibillion-dollar international IT company.

UDig intends to leverage Chamblee and Dean’s experience in growing its Nashville client base rapidly but deliberately and expects to hire 25 people by 2022.

UDig’s office is located at 3401 Mallory Lane, Suite 200, in Franklin.

ILC opens residential treatment for women

Nashville-based Integrative Life Center, a treatment center for mental health and substance use disorders, has opened a residential program for women with a live-in program for men to open in spring.

The female residential program features 12 beds, a full-time nursing staff, weekday and weekend programming to meet clients’ needs. ILC also has expanded its team of therapists and medical staff to assist clients in the residential level of care.

MONQ unveils aromatherapy product

Goodlettsville-based MONQ has announced the release of its Roll-On Essential Oil Blend Collection.

The product features three essential oil blends diluted in a carrier oil blend and ready for topical application.

“With the addition of our new Roll-On Essential Oil Blend Collection, MONQ is realizing our vision to share aromatherapy anywhere,’’ says Eric Fishman, M.D., CEO and founder of MONQ. “We are proud to be building from the foundation of our cornerstone product – the first personal aromatherapy diffuser – to make quality aromatherapy accessible for everyone.’’

MONQ relies on science to create synergistic essential oil blends designed to elicit emotional responses and produce therapeutic benefits. The Roll-On Collection is doctor-approved and was specially crafted by a certified aromatherapist and produced in MONQ’s lab.

Spero Health earns CARF accreditation

Spero Health, based in Nashville, has received its CARF International accreditation for a period of three years for its outpatient treatment of alcohol and other drugs/addiction program.

The latest accreditation is the second consecutive three-year accreditation that the international accrediting body, CARF, has given to Spero Health.

This accreditation is the highest level of accreditation that can be given to an organization and shows the organization’s substantial conformance to the CARF standards.

An organization receiving the accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process. It has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit its commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable and of the highest quality.

Spero Health, Inc., is an integrated health care services organization specializing in local and affordable outpatient care for individuals suffering from substance use disorders.