Nashville-based Integrity Solutions has been named a Top 20 sales training firm by Training Industry, a resource for business training.

Companies on the list are “…the best and most innovative providers of training services and technologies,’’ according to the website.

In vetting candidate companies for the top honor, Training Industry evaluates firms based on key criteria – including thought leadership and influence on the sales training sector; breadth and quality of sales training topics and competencies; company size and growth potential; industry recognition and innovation; and the strength of clients and geographic reach.

“This is the third consecutive year that Integrity Solutions has been honored as a Top 20 firm,” says Mike Esterday, CEO of Integrity Solutions. “We’re very pleased – of course – and especially now as our clients turn to us for training expertise to help them navigate a challenging business environment, including to help them pivot to virtual training due to shutdown limitations.’’

Embassy Suites Downtown picks HVMG

The 506-suite Embassy Suites by Hilton Nashville Downtown Convention Center will be run by Hospitality Ventures Management Group, an Atlanta-based, private hotel investment firm.

Embassy Suites, part of a two-tower development on 1.3 acres of land, is scheduled to open during the fourth quarter of 2021.

“As HVMG expands its portfolio of managed and owned hotels across the United States, we will continue to seek ‘best-in-class’ partners such as Crescent Real Estate, Starwood Capital Group and High Street Real Estate Partners to achieve our growth goals,” says Robert Cole, president & CEO, HVMG.

“This two-tower project immediately will become one of the most exciting lodging options not only in Nashville, but the entire country. In a town already known for its high caliber hotels, this is no small feat.”

The 30-story Embassy Suites by Hilton Hotel is situated on the north side of Demonbreun Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues in a prime location adjacent to Music City Center, Nashville’s $625 million, 2.1 million square foot convention center. The property is just one block from the Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators and within a few blocks of Country Music Hall of Fame, Ryman Auditorium, Frist Art Museum and Broadway, known for its restaurants, bars and music venues.

Saladworks expands footprint to Nashville

Saladworks, a fast-casual, create-your-own salad concept, has announced a partnership with REEF Technology and plans to expand to new cities, including Nashville.

Saladworks will primarily debut as ghost kitchens supported by third-party delivery companies nationwide.

While some of its REEF locations allow for walk-up orders, Saladworks will primarily use these mobile ecosystems as a means to accommodate a larger number and wider area of delivery orders. The centralized locations and ability to prepare food on-site promote the delivery of meals as efficiently and freshly as possible. Each site offers a menu of featured items, including Saladworks’ create-your-own and signature salads, wraps and grain bowls.

Saladworks, which has been in business for more than 30 years, has always placed a focus on guest originality through its healthy and fresh ingredients and create-your-own options.

IntellaTriage partners with Health Gorilla

IntellaTriage, a Brentwood-based provider of after-hours telephone nurse triage, is partnering with Health Gorilla, a leader in clinical data APIs.

Through this collaboration, IntellaTriage can now leverage Health Gorilla’s Patient360 platform to access comprehensive clinical records from a vast clinical network of over 60,000 care sites, including connectivity to Carequality and CommonWell Health Alliance.

IntellaTriage partners with health systems, hospices, home health agencies, health plans, and provider groups to triage care with its telehealth platform and network of remote, live registered nurses. When patients require care after hours, IntellaTriage collects relevant clinical data, provides protocol driven care, and triages cases to the appropriate level of care and coordination. With IntellaTriage’s process, provider groups can eliminate the burden on their nursing staff while providing a better patient experience with shorter call wait times.

Asurion unveils engineer apprenticeship

Nashville-based tech care company Asurion is launching Tennessee’s first in-house apprenticeship for software engineers.

The program will provide the company’s hourly employees with the opportunity to up-skill into one of the most sought-after professional roles in the metro area. The company’s software engineering apprenticeship program will also help foster diversity in tech and help build the region’s tech talent pipeline.

The program includes a combination of technical coursework through Nashville State Community College and on-the-job training with their fellow Asurion colleagues and mentors.

“We’re proud to invest in our employees by offering another opportunity where they can push themselves to grow in their careers,” says Barry Vandevier, chief operating officer at Asurion. “The program is a win-win for Asurion and our employees, providing paid training and development and a professional career path in tech that can lead to higher wages, while helping Asurion fill high-demand positions in tech.”

The program is partially funded under an agreement with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Employees will spend 10 months in the apprenticeship program before officially starting new roles as associate software engineers with Asurion.

Sarah Cannon part of in-human trial

Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited, and Sarah Cannon Research Institute, based in Nashville, have announced that the first patient has been dosed in a first-in-human phase 1 study evaluating DS-6157, an investigational GPR20 directed antibody drug conjugate.

The drug is for patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor who have progressed on, or are intolerant to, standard treatment. Treatment guidelines for patients with advanced GIST recommend surgery where possible and targeted therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

DS-6157 is the fifth DXd ADC from the oncology pipeline of Daiichi to enter clinical development and the second being evaluated in the strategic oncology collaboration between Daiichi and Sarah Cannon.

CFMT continues tornado aid

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee announces eight additional grants totaling $227,000 to area nonprofits and organizations helping those affected by the March 3 tornadoes.

The grant application is open and continuing to accept applications for immediate relief needs (food, shelter and short-term housing, clothing, clean up and debris removal, and financial assistance). The Fund is also now accepting requests for recovery assistance (legal, mental health/counseling, permanent housing, rebuilding/construction, and case management).

To date, 114 grants to 98 organizations have been deployed from the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund, totaling more than $3.5 million ($3,516,900). For more information, go to www.tornadoresponse.com.

The latest round of grants:

• Crosspoint Church Mt. Juliet ($50,000) to provide cleanup and debris removal of trees in Wilson County destroyed in the tornado.

• The Equity Alliance ($50,000) to provide additional food, rent and other direct financial assistance for North Nashville residents and continuing outreach to connect residents with needed resources.

• First Baptist Church of Lebanon ($20,000) to provide food, rent another direct financial assistance for residents of Wilson County.

• The Hope Station ($30,000) to provide rent, utility, transportation and other basic financial assistance to single mothers in Davidson County.

• Martha O’Bryan Center ($50,000) to provide food, rent, direct financial assistance, and mental health support to tornado victims in Davidson County.

• Neighbor2Neighbor ($5,000) to provide support for the coordination of the Eastside Tornado Recovery Group and debrief/planning session with up to 20 neighborhood leaders in Davidson Co.

• Tennessee Immigrants and Refugees Rights Coalition aka TIRRC ($10,000) to provide food assistance to 100 families and translation assistance, including recruitment of 50 translators for community partners and distribution of 4,700 multilingual resource guides to tornado survivors in Davidson and Wilson counties.

• Turnip Green Creative Reuse ($12,000) to provide 500 STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) education kits that include physical supplies, lesson plans, and online workshop demos to Metro Nashville Public School students from the nine Davidson County schools that experienced tornado damage.

TERRA expands electronic recycling

While recycling programs nationwide have been stalled by the coronavirus, Nashville-based TERRA’s Done with IT mail-in program continues to provide electronics recycling to those impacted by the epidemic.

The company has announced Synergy Electronics Recycling has joined the program and will provide certified recycling services from their Certified R2 facility in Madison, North Carolina.

Done with IT serves the entire continental U.S. as well as Canada with recycling options from its international network of e-Stewards and Certified R2 facilities.

“While the electronics recycling industry has been deemed essential, most e-waste recycling programs have been suspended,” says Steven Napoli, president & CEO of TERRA. “Done with IT offers e-waste recycling and ITAD services from nation’s best recyclers for both businesses and consumers without the need for physical contact.”

Grant to aid in mental health recruiting

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services has been awarded $200,000 to recruit physicians to the state’s four Regional Mental Health Institutes.

The funding is from the Tennessee Center for Health Workforce Development, a subsidiary of the Tennessee Hospital Association, and it can be used to recruit psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners at state hospitals, including in Nashville.

Approved uses of the funding include sign-on bonuses, relocation expenses and student loan repayment assistance.

“Recruiting physicians, especially psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners, is a challenge for all health care organizations,’’ says TDMHSAS Commissioner Marie Williams, LCSW.

“This funding makes the prospect of employment with TDMHSAS that much more attractive and will help us to recruit top talent to treat the Tennesseans in our care.’’