Brentwood-based LBMC, PC., has been named as a 2018 Top 50 accounting firm by INSIDE Public Accounting.
The publication ranked the company No. 43 in its 2018 Top 100 largest accounting firms in the U.S. list based on the firm’s revenue and growth of approximately 12 percent.
The 2018 list places LBMC four slots higher than last year’s position.
“We are thrilled to once again be recognized by INSIDE Public Accounting as a Top 50 firm in the nation,” says Jeff Drummonds, chief executive officer of LBMC.
“This national recognition is a testament to our dedication to providing outstanding service and expertise to our clients and our ability to constantly develop our skills and problem solve to meet their evolving needs. We’ve been able to achieve tremendous growth in this extremely competitive market, and that is a testament to our people who are industry leaders in their disciplines.”
Baker Donelson named a top law firm for women
Baker Donelson has been named by Working Mother magazine to its 11th annual “Best Law Firms for Women” list, recognizing firms that utilize best practices in retaining and promoting women lawyers. Baker Donelson was among 60 firms to earn a spot on this year’s list.
The 2018 list highlights law firms in which on average almost half of associates and more than a third of partners are women, while one-fifth of equity partners are women.
These firms also increasingly offer extended parental leave benefits and encourage more lawyers to work remotely and use flexible hours.
Through its Women’s Initiative, Baker Donelson has implemented numerous key initiatives designed to create an environment where female attorneys thrive, according to the firm, including an industry-leading parental leave policy, a firm-wide mentoring program for women, a program that awards business development grants to women attorneys, and a training program designed to help women attorneys achieve equity shareholder status.
Quorum Health to sell McKenzie hospital assets
Brentwood-based Quorum Health Corporation has announced an agreement with Baptist Memorial Health Care to sell the physical assets of a hospital in McKenzie.
The 45-bed McKenzie Regional Hospital will be sold.
The transaction is expected to be complete by the end of the third quarter of 2018, subject to customary approvals and conditions.
Quorum plans to discontinue operations at McKenzie Regional Hospital by September 30.
The hospital was among the facilities discussed under the company’s first quarter 2018 earnings conference call. All net proceeds from the transaction will be used to repay outstanding principal on the company’s term loan facility.
Eskind Library reopens after $12.9M makeover
The Annette and Irwin Eskind Family Biomedical Library and Learning Center at Vanderbilt University has reopened after a yearlong, $12.9 million renovation.
The construction project, with infrastructure improvements and updates, was designed to incorporate the university’s research, learning and teaching goals and includes features that complement the School of Medicine’s innovative Curriculum 2.0. It also meets LEED Silver certification standards.
The project was supported with a $6 million gift to Vanderbilt University from the Eskind family in 2016.
Longtime Vanderbilt benefactor Annette S. Eskind and her two sons and their wives, Dr. and Mrs. Steven J. Eskind and Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey B. Eskind, made the gift to continue the vision of the late Dr. Irwin Eskind.
Hastings Architecture Associates designed the renovation. Messer Construction Company was the general contractor.
Lyric’s pact with Hyperwallet pays off
Lyric Financial, an entertainment financial services company based in Nashville, has announced the results of its pairing with Hyperwallet, a global payout provider.
In less than four months, the company says it has provided royalty advances to TuneCore and SonyATV clients, including artists, songwriters, record labels, and distributors in thirty countries across six continents.
“Lyric Financial has always valued being an active member in the global music community,” says Eli Ball, Lyric founder and CEO. “We look forward to working with international music industry organizations that advocate, educate and support artists and their music.”
IQuity launches new analytics platform
IQuity, a Nashville-based data analytics company that specializes in predicting, detecting and monitoring chronic disease, has announced the launch of a new analytics platform.
The platform will allow the company to apply its approach within large populations, and it represents IQuity’s evolution from a developer of genomic diagnostic technologies to an integrated data science company.
IQuity’s new technology holds the promise of enhancing outcomes while lowering the cost of healthcare and is likely to appeal to organizations responsible for the healthcare of many people, such as self-insured employers, benefit managers, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical firms and care management companies.
IQuity also announced it has named Ray Guzman and Damian Mingle as advisors for technology. Both previously worked at healthcare data analytics company WPC Healthcare as CEO and chief data scientist, respectively. As part of the leadership team at WPC, they participated in facilitating WPC’s acquisition by Intermedix.
Great Place to Work picks myNEXUS
Brentwood’s myNEXUS has been named a great workplace by the independent analysts at Great Place to Work.
The company, a technology-driven care management company, received its certification based on extensive ratings provided by its employees in anonymous surveys.
“We have a remarkable and diverse organization at myNEXUS – from our clinical and non-clinical employees who are committed to diligently managing the best patient care for our clients, to those who are developing systems, providing tools and removing roadblocks,’’ says McArthur VanOsdale, president and CEO.
XSOLIS creates new payer portal
Nashville-based XSOLIS, using real-time predictive analytics to transform healthcare operations, announces the launch of XSOLIS Partner Portal.
The new product serves as a neutral framework for care determinations between providers and participating payers nationwide.
Providers utilizing the XSOLIS platform are now able to streamline communications with their payers through the portal, enabling both parties to assess appropriate hospital-based care through data-driven determinations of clinical merit.
“XSOLIS’ analytics platform enables our staff to more effectively review patients’ clinical conditions and provides supporting documentation for defensible medical necessity determinations as well as case reviews,” says Sherri Ernst, revenue integrity and utilization management officer for Covenant Health. “Now that we’re able to escalate that information directly to participating payers prior to discharge, we are more aligned on clinical merit for each patient and less likely to experience a denied claim due to missed clinical information necessary to support medical necessity.”
JourneyPure to expand, add 10 addiction centers
JourneyPure, an addiction treatment services provider based in Nashville, plans to add 10 outpatient centers in 2018 in Tennessee, Kentucky and Florida.
“JourneyPure specializes in treating individuals suffering from co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorders and recognizes that most people can be treated effectively and efficiently on an outpatient basis,” says Kevin Lee, CEO and co-founder.
The 10 new outpatient centers include five locations in Tennessee: two JourneyPure Nashville centers, two JourneyPure Knoxville centers, JourneyPure Clarksville and JourneyPure Franklin. The new Kentucky centers are JourneyPure Louisville and JourneyPure Lexington, while JourneyPure Fort Walton Beach and JourneyPure Orlando are in Florida.
Brentwood’s LifePoint, RCCH announce merger
LifePoint Health and RCCH HealthCare Partners, both Brentwood-based companies, are merging.
Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company will be privately held, operate under the LifePoint Health name, be led by William F. Carpenter III, chairman and chief executive officer of LifePoint, and remain in Brentwood.
The transaction is expected to be completed over the course of the next several months, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by LifePoint’s shareholders and receipt of applicable regulatory approvals.
On closing, LifePoint shareholders will receive $65 per share in cash for each share of LifePoint common stock they own, resulting in a LifePoint enterprise value of approximately $5.6 billion, including $2.9 billion of net debt and minority interest.
The combination of these two companies have approximately 60,000 employees and more than 12,000 licensed beds, including 84 non-urban hospitals in 30 states, regional health systems, physician practices, outpatient centers and post-acute service providers.
At-risk students show test improvement
The 2018 TNReady student assessment results report students in historically disadvantaged student groups are showing progress.
Those in underserved populations – English learners, students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, and students who are Black, Hispanic, or Native American – often grew faster than their peers, and they frequently bucked the trend when overall progress was down. Results show:
Students who are Black, Hispanic, or Native American narrowed performance gaps in math across the board
Students with disabilities narrowed performance gaps in middle school for both math and ELA
Students who were recently English learners improved proficiency rates faster than all students in many areas – ranging from grades 3-5 ELA to U.S. history
The full English learner student group, which includes recently exited students, narrowed the gap with their non-EL peers in both math and ELA, with an across-the-board increase in the percent of EL students scoring on track and mastered
Students who are economically disadvantaged also narrowed performance gaps in ELA.