Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is launching its Black-Owned Small Business and Nonprofit Clinic. The firm has partnered with the Arts& Business Council of Greater Nashville and its Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts program to provide accessible and affordable business-oriented legal services to Black-owned small businesses and nonprofits.

The program will initially launch in Nashville and will be held by appointment only. The first clinic took place virtually on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Succeeding clinics will be offered on the third Thursday of each month.

A limited number of appointments will be available for each clinic. Among other services, Bradley attorneys will provide corporate governance, review of contracts, and guidance navigating local ordinances and state regulations to clients of VLPA.

VLPA is the cornerstone program of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville, which connects artists and arts organizations with the education, resources, and opportunities they need to thrive. To this end, the Arts & Business Council provides pro bono legal and business services to income-qualified artists and creative entrepreneurs of all disciplines, as well as emerging nonprofit arts organizations, through VLPA.

For these clinics, eligible businesses of any sector should consist of at least 50% Black ownership and $1 million or less of annual revenue with 10 or fewer employees.

Entrepreneur Center launches podcast

The Nashville Entrepreneur Center, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and local businesses, has announced the launch of Circle Back, a podcast featuring Nashville’s most exceptional and successful entrepreneurs.

The eight-episode series allows these influential leaders to “circle back” to the key moments that defined their entrepreneurial paths while offering advice to locals who are on the entrepreneurial journey.

The show’s first episode, featuring former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, premiered this week. Gov. Bredesen discussed how he made the decision to leave a secure job and launch his company, as well as key takeaways from his entrepreneurial journey that will benefit any leader.

Upcoming episodes, available on popular podcast platforms, including Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher and TuneIn:

• Feb. 8: Darrell Freeman, founder of Zycron technology firm and organizing director of Reliant Bank

• Feb. 23: Cordia Harrington, founder of The Bakery Cos and known as “The Bun Lady”

• March 9: Beth Chase, founder of C3Consulting & Board Chair at the NEC

• March 23: Dan Crockett, founder of Franklin American Mortgage

• April 6: Shannon Terry, founder of 247Sports

• April 20: Clint Smith, founder of Emma and Nashville technology ecosystem innovator

• May 11: Jane Allen, CEO at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center and founder of Counsel on Call

Investors boost Heritage Group

Nashville-based Heritage Group, a health care-focused private equity firm, has announced the closing of over $300 million in its oversubscribed third fund, an increase of nearly $100 million over its prior fund.

Heritage is backed by some of the leading health care organizations in the nation, including large provider systems, payers and health care service providers. Heritage engages deeply with its strategic investors, who provide unique value and insights through all stages of the deal process, including the identification, evaluation and subsequent growth of its portfolio companies.

Heritage will continue its successful strategy of investing in solution-oriented, high-growth health care services and technology businesses that are addressing the industry’s most pressing challenges.

Lipscomb business school named state’s best

Lipscomb University’s College of Business has once again been ranked the top undergrad program in Tennessee and is among the top 60 in the nation by Poets&Quants for Undergrads, the leading online publication for undergraduate business education news.

This is the fifth consecutive year for Lipscomb’s College of Business to be ranked nationally and the best in Tennessee.

Lipscomb was ranked in the No. 56 in the nation.

Also included on the list were the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, New York University Stern School of Business, Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame, Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University and Scheller College of Business at Georgia Institute of Technology among others.

Sony Music partners with NMAAM

Nashville’s National Museum of African American Music has announced a new partnership with Sony Music Group, making it the first music company to support the museum’s mission and values ahead of its opening.

As part of the partnership, developed through Sony Music’s Global Social Justice Fund, a Sony Music Scholars Black Music Certification and Scholarship Program will be created to make an impact on the community through music education.

The scholarship program has been developed to introduce students to the music industry through the lens of African American history and culture. Together, the NMAAM and SMG will partner on a curriculum, course and certification dedicated to Black music culture and business, providing students a window into all facets of the music business and related careers.

Episode Solutions buys Fusion5

Nashville-based Episode Solutions, LLC, a leading provider of technology-powered solutions enabling specialist physicians to actively participate in value-based health care, has acquired Fusion5 Healthcare Solutions, an affiliate of Owens & Minor, Inc.

The combination brings together two of the leading health care companies operating in partnership with specialists across value-based care environments and alternative payment models to more effectively manage patient care, outcomes and cost.

The transaction further expands Episode Solutions’ existing 17-state footprint of orthopaedic, cardiology and other specialist practice group partners to more than 90 practice groups across 33 states.

Allegiant adds flights to Key West, Greensboro

Allegiant has announced service from Nashville International Airport to two new cities, Key West, Florida, and Greensboro, North Carolina.

The route to Key West adds a new market to Allegiant’s list of destinations from Nashville. The Greensboro route was previously announced, however, scheduled service was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Service to Key West begins June 2 and to Greensboro via Piedmont Triad International Airport June 3.

The new flights will operate twice weekly. Flight days, times and the lowest fares can be found only at Allegiant.com.

Concert Genetics launches preferred labs

Nashville-based Concert Genetics has announced the launch of a preferred network of genetic testing laboratories.

Invitae, PreventionGenetics and GeneDx Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BioReference Laboratories, Inc., an OPKO Health company, are the first to be accepted into the network, having met the rigorous requirements for quality, service and billing integrity.

By systematizing the collection and comparison of laboratory quality information, the Concert network brings transparency to a genetic testing market that lacks a clear means of distinguishing high-quality laboratories. All labs participating in the network submit detailed lab quality information, which Concert quantifies and uses to determine eligibility.

Bell & Associates land interchange contract

The state has awarded the design-build contract for the new I-65 Buckner Road interchange in Spring Hill to Bell & Associates of Nashville.

The company had the low bid of $54.3 million and is expected to complete the interchange project by May 2023, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

The project includes the extension of Buckner Road from Buckner Lane to Lewisburg Pike across I-65 with a Diverging Diamond Interchange. The City of Spring Hill kickstarted the project with a $25 million BUILD grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation in late 2018.

Change tackles CMS price transparency rule

Nashville’s Change Healthcare has announced it is offering two options to help providers meet the new CMS price transparency requirements.

The Transparency module for the company’s online health care e-commerce solution, Shop Book and Pay, lets patients view pricing for shoppable health care services from multiple providers, helping make the process of shopping for health care as easy as online retail shopping.

The Clearance Estimator Patient Direct solution provides financial estimates for a patient’s out-of-pocket cost for visits, tests and procedures.

Both options also allow patients to view the hospital’s complete pricing data for all services, presenting them with valuable comparison data and giving providers a single-vendor solution to help comply with all CMS transparency regulations.

The CMS Hospital Price Transparency Final Rule requires hospitals to publish a machine-readable file of their standard charges for all services. The deadline was Jan. 1, 2021.

Genesco’s sales down while e-commerce rises

Nashville’s Genesco Inc. has announced that comparable sales, including both stores and direct sales, decreased 3% for the quarter-to-date period ended Dec. 2.

Same store sales decreased 14% and sales for the company’s e-commerce businesses increased 49% on a comparable basis for that period. The company’s comp policy removes any stores that are closed for seven consecutive days or more. Therefore, comparable sales results exclude periods of time that stores were closed for seven consecutive days or more as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Overall, our performance this holiday selling season was very encouraging given the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic with sales coming in above our expectations,” says Mimi E. Vaughn, Genesco board chair, president and CEO.