LifePoint Health and Kindred Healthcare have announced plans to establish a new health care company operating under the name ScionHealth upon closing of their previously announced transaction.

Headquartered in Louisville, ScionHealth will consist of 79 hospital campuses in 25 states, including Kindred’s 61 long-term acute care hospitals and 18 of LifePoint’s community hospitals and associated health systems.

ScionHealth will be led by a management team drawing from both LifePoint and Kindred. Rob Jay, executive vice president of integrated operations at LifePoint, will serve as CEO of ScionHealth.

At the close of the transaction, LifePoint will combine its 65+ remaining hospital campuses and its network of physician practices and outpatient centers with Kindred’s rehabilitation and behavioral health businesses. LifePoint will continue to be headquartered in Nashville, and David Dill will remain its president and CEO.

Upon the completion of regulatory approvals and satisfaction of customary closing conditions, the acquisition of Kindred and the launch of ScionHealth are expected to be completed by the end of the year. At closing, LifePoint and ScionHealth anticipate entering into transition services arrangements to support operations at both companies.

Predators score betting partnership with Bally’s

The Nashville Predators and Bally’s Corporation have entered into a partnership designating Bally’s as an Official Sports Betting Partner and the Official Free-to-Play Partner of the Nashville Predators and Bridgestone Arena.

The partnership, which runs through 2025, will grant Nashville Predators intellectual property rights to Bally’s, as well as provide Bally’s with access to team logos, marks and certain content rights. The agreement marks Bally’s first partnership with an NHL franchise and its first with a professional sports team in the state of Tennessee.

As the first offering in this partnership, Bally’s will launch Smashville Selector, a free-to-play game that offers fans the chance to compete for unique prizes.

First Community Mortgage honored

Murfreesboro-based First Community Mortgage has won the 2021 Residential Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leadership Award for Market Outreach Strategies.

The company was recognized at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Annual Convention and Expo last week.

“We are of course proud and grateful for this recognition,” says Keith Canter, CEO of FCM and one of the company’s founders. “Plus, this award has special significance for us as FCM is the only company in our industry to have received it for a second time. We take that ‘double honor’ seriously, as it validates our commitment to provide more families from diverse backgrounds with the opportunity to achieve the American Dream of homeownership.”

In 2017, FCM also earned the MBA National Market Outreach Strategies award recognizing its efforts in this area, including a wide array of bilingual information and educational resources for Hispanic potential homebuyers. The annual award recognizes MBA members who have developed innovative ways to foster DEI efforts within their organizations, highlights leaders within the area of DEI in the real estate finance industry, inspires business strategies that reach diverse populations and raises awareness of the importance and value of being a diverse and inclusive industry.

GoCheck, GoCheck Kids gets big investment

GoCheck, creator of Nashville-based GoCheck Kids, a digital vision screening platform, has announced an investment round of $10 million to grow its team, platform and customer partnerships.

6,500 pediatric teams on three continents trust GoCheck Kids to prevent vision impairment and blindness in children. These hospitals, private practices, schools, and screening organizations have screened 5 million patients. GoCheck’s team has the potential to revolutionize vision care by accelerating access, and also lower health care costs.

Vision impairment is the most prevalent disabling childhood condition. GoCheck Kids has increased health equity and access by expanding the points of vision screening. GoCheck Kids is the only integrated vision screening solution that meets the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical societies’ guidelines for patients 1 through 18 years-old. GoCheck Kids’ comprehensive digital vision screening platform enables the most extensive ROI for providers.

Artiphon launches Orbacam app

Nashville-based Artiphon, a designer of smart instruments, has expanded its Orbacam iOS app to sync with the company’s Orba instrument, creating a multimedia studio.

Orba players can link their phones and begin transforming songs into augmented video creations. Orbacam lets players lay down multilayer loops and enhance their videos with musically reactive visual effects.

Orbacam was inspired by Orba users. As Artiphon’s team saw thousands of social videos created by Orba players and developed Orbacam to expand the multimedia capabilities of the instrument.

With Orbacam, it’s easy to jump between drum, bass, chord and lead modes. The sounds and visual effects are baked right into the video export, no audio routing or post-production required. Users can mix in their phone’s microphone to sing or rap over their beat, shoot video while playing live, or import videos and photos from their camera roll to add a soundtrack after the fact.

BehaVR signs with Japanese drug company

Nashville-based health care virtual reality firm BehaVR has signed an agreement with Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., a Japanese pharmaceutical company.

The deal is for the companies to develop and commercialize prescription digital therapies and general wellness products for the treatment of anxiety disorders.

This collaboration combines BehaVR’s design and product development capabilities with Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma’s expertise in developing prescription therapeutics for patients with CNS-related disorders. It also leverages key strengths from each company’s go-to-market and commercial capabilities.

The companies say the unique neurological power of the virtual reality medium will transform access to care and power next generation delivery of anxiety and depression treatment for patients.

The companies will pursue FDA clearance for three products that aim to alleviate the burden in patients with social anxiety, generalized anxiety or major depressive disorder. Once FDA-cleared, they may be prescribed alongside other behavioral therapies and have the potential to be used in a variety of settings.

Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma has agreed to fund development of these novel VR therapies and to commercialize them globally upon achievement of each country’s regulatory approvals.

HCA posts $15.2B in revenue for third quarter

HCA Healthcare, Inc. has announced its financial and operating results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30.

The key third quarter metrics (all percentage changes compare 3Q 2021 to 3Q 2020 unless otherwise noted) include:

• Revenues totaled $15.276 billion

• Net income attributable to HCA Healthcare, Inc. totaled $2.269 billion, or $7.00 per diluted share

• Adjusted EBITDA totaled $3.224 billion

• Cash flows from operating activities totaled $2.277 billion

• Same facility admissions and same facility equivalent admissions increased 6.8% and 9.3%, respectively

Tennessee pediatric dentist firm acquired

Cumberland Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics of Tennessee has been acquired by Spark Orthodontics.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Rock Mountain Capital holds a significant minority investment in Spark.

Cumberland’s eight offices in the Nashville area will retain the Cumberland name and will roll up under Spark Orthodontics. Cumberland’s four founders, Brent Miller, DDS; Jennifer House, DMD; Jack Stalker, DDS; and Peter Wojtkiewicz, DMD, will become members of the Spark management team.

With this acquisition, Spark becomes a multi-specialty practice, covering the entire pediatric dental and orthodontic lifecycle, from 18 months of age through adulthood.

In April 2021 Rock Mountain Capital announced a significant minority investment in Spark Orthodontics.

The General recognizes sneaker insurance CEO

Nashville insurance company The General has awarded its second annual $25,000 NAACP Powershift Entrepreneur Grant to rising Black entrepreneur Phil Terrill, CEO and founder of Minnesota-based company SoleSafe, a company dedicated to providing quality insurance for shoes.

In addition to the monetary grant, Terrill will also receive professional one-on-one mentoring sessions with Shaquille O’Neal and Elicia Azali, enterprise chief marketing officer at American Family Insurance, parent company of The General.

Terrill is capitalizing on the trend of people spending money on shoes now more than ever, especially those that are innovative or one-of-a-kind sneakers. Coined as “the first sneaker insurance for the culture,” SoleSafe prides itself on being real-time, dynamic insurance coverage built by sneakerheads for sneakerheads to protect their soles.

The General also engaged its historically Black colleges and universities partners – Morehouse College and Tennessee State University – by awarding six Black business students and student entrepreneurs with one-on-one mentoring sessions with O’Neal and Azali.

Pilot training facility opens in Maury County

A new pilot training facility is now open at Maury County Regional Airport.

Tennessee Flight Training, which began operations this month, is an expansion of Nashville Flight Training, which has been based at Nashville International Airport for more than 10 years and has served over 3,000 student pilots.

The new location at Maury County Regional Airport features new aircraft, a state-of-the-art flight simulator and classroom space for student pilots and their instructors to conduct ground training.

Tennessee Flight Training offers a range of customized options – from recreational to career pilot training – at a pace that fits each student’s needs.

An FAA Certified Flight Instructor can provide a personalized training path based on the student’s schedule. In addition, financing options are available.