Zillow Group, Inc. has resumed buying homes in five additional Zillow Offers markets, bringing the total to nine.
Homeowners in Nashville, Portland, Oregon, Denver, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs, Colorado, now have the option to sell their home directly to Zillow. Last week, the company restarted home buying in Phoenix, Tucson, Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Zillow had paused home acquisitions in all 24 markets where it operates on March 23, in response to housing market uncertainty and public health concerns.
“We know that people still want to move, and Zillow Offers is a way for them to do so safely and easily,” says Zillow president Jeremy Wacksman. “With Zillow Offers, homeowners can sell their home without showings or open houses and can close digitally. For Zillow-owned homes, we’ve rolled out new health and safety measures so buyers can feel confident during an in-person tour. We also provide a virtual tour option through our 3D Home feature.’’
State recruiting workers for August 6 primary
The state is seeking poll officials for the Aug. 6 state and federal primary and county general election.
Poll officials perform various tasks to help polling sites run smoothly, including greeting voters, answering questions, processing voters, explaining how to cast a ballot and counting votes. Any voter is eligible to apply, regardless of political affiliation. Poll officials must:
• Be a registered voter if 18 or older
• Be at least 16 years old
• Not be a candidate or close relative of a candidate
• Be able to read and write in the English language
The following government employees can also serve as poll officials:
• City, County or Metro employees, unless working directly under the supervision of an elected official on the ballot
• State of Tennessee employee
• Federal employees – consult your Human Resources department to ensure eligibility
Poll officials are compensated for working during early voting and on Election Day, as well as for attending required training sessions.
Information: GoVoteTN.com.
Tennessee Promise events at state parks
Tennessee State Parks are offering volunteer events at all 56 state parks and two state natural areas, most Saturday, June 27, for Tennessee Promise scholars to fulfill their community service hours.
Tennessee Promise Saturday includes a variety of work projects at the parks, including landscaping, invasive plant removal, litter pickup and trail maintenance. Participants are encouraged to wear appropriate clothing for the work and bring items such as water, snacks and sunscreen. Students should check with each park on the activities planned and details on what they will need.
Space is limited at each site due to COVID-19. Participants are asked to bring masks or face coverings, not attend if they are sick and to volunteer at a site close to their home. Everyone will be asked to remain 6 feet apart.
The state natural areas participating include Flat Rock Cedar Glades and Barrens in Rutherford County. Radnor Lake State Park will hold two sessions June 26.
Students are encouraged to register as soon as possible. Details about service hours can be found at https://tnstateparks.com/about/special-events/tn-promise-saturday.
Tommy Shaw of STYX to perform PENCIL event
Business and community leaders from across Nashville will gather – this time virtually on June 22 – to celebrate A Little Night of Music, PENCIL’s annual signature fundraising event, featuring Tommy Shaw and friends.
Shaw is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and performer best known from the band Styx.
In 15 years, this event has raised more than $1.7 million for PENCIL and the work it does for Metro students.
Information: https://ALNM20.givesmart.com.
Baker Donelson honored at M&A Atlas Awards
Baker Donelson was named a winner in the second annual USA Middle Market Atlas Awards. The awards, presented by the Global M&A Network, recognize the achievements of influential dealmakers and leaders, outstanding firms and the best growth-delivering transactions.
Baker Donelson was honored in the “Deal of the Year” category for its work in the acquisition of STR, Inc. by CoStar Group, Inc., a provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces. The firm served as legal adviser to STR, Inc. in the October 2019 transaction, valued at $450 million, which was the largest hotel industry transaction for 2019.
Wellview adds hours, mental health specialists
Nashville-based Wellview Health is extending the company’s hours of operations and hiring new mental health specialists to support participants and their families during the coronavirus pandemic.
Wellview clients, and their covered populations, will now have extended virtual access to the Wellview Concierge and Care Team, in addition to the 24/7 telemedicine support already offered to participating clients.
Wellview’s Mental Health consults have increased by 114% in the first quarter of 2020, compared to quarter one of 2019. They have also seen an 89% year-over-year increase in telemedicine engagement. The company is continuing to meet this growing demand through new mental health specialists in addition to expanding availability of their providers.
“We are living in a time of unbelievable stress and uncertainty, and on top of that people are hesitant or unable to access their usual outlets for preventative and urgent care,” says Wellview CEO and co-founder James Story. “Our Care Team at Wellview provides personalized care through our virtual health solutions that support the whole person from the safety of their home – whether it be mental health, physical health, financial wellness, or physician and pharmacy needs.”
Change launches telehealth offerings
Nashville’s Change Healthcare has unveiled telehealth offerings that combine industry-standard APIs, software solutions, and hardware bundles to help telehealth platform vendors and health care providers rapidly deploy virtual care services.
4Change Healthcare combines industry-standard APIs, software solutions, and hardware bundles to support and accelerate the adoption of virtual care.
As the industry embraces telemedicine, virtual diagnostics and other digital services, and CMS, ONC, and health plans implement expansion of coverage and funding, virtual care providers face challenges expanding, managing and billing for these services.
Now providers and telehealth platforms can easily discover, acquire, and implement solution sets that address these needs – with simplified contracting and no implementation and enrollment fees for telehealth APIs. Change’s new Telehealth Medical Eligibility and Claims Management solution set now delivers APIs to check eligibility, submit claims and manage the claims lifecycle. Additionally, its new Telehealth Lab Orders, Results, and ePrescribe solution set addresses connectivity challenges faced by telehealth vendors to order lab tests and prescribe medications.
These solutions leverage the company’s connectivity to over 2,400 payers and 1 million physicians, and are powered by proven telehealth, claims management, lab ordering, e-prescribing and radiology imaging products.
Titan Cloud Software adds retail chain
Brentwood-based Titan Cloud Software has been chosen by Yesway, a convenience store chain, as its platform for environmental compliance.
Titan Cloud Software, whose global customers include 7-Eleven, Circle K, EG Group, XPO Logistics, Hertz and British Petroleum, delivers the industry-standard compliance platform for retail and commercial fuel providers. The company has experienced significant double-digit growth annually since being launched in 2012.
“It was important for us to have a platform that would help us automate the importation of test and inspection records to create efficiencies with repairs, testing, and our existing vendor dispatch system,” says Melissa Davis, compliance manager with Yesway. “Given the complexity of our tank systems and our need for real-time alarm tracking and leak detection, we wanted a platform that worked with a number of different tank monitors.’’
“Titan Cloud is excited to be partnering with Yesway to help support and deliver a critical component for risk mitigation and compliance management,” says John Donnelly III, chief revenue officer for Titan. “Our SaaS platform will enable Yesway’s compliance team to scale with a proven solution for fuel management. We look forward to working with Yesway on additional projects as they acquire more convenience stores.”
Titan Cloud Software has been on a rapid growth trajectory since receiving an investment from M33 Growth, a private equity firm based in Boston.
Union Station Hotel sold, Pebblebrook says
Union Station Hotel Nashville has been sold. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has announced that it executed a contract to sell the 125-room hotel for $56 million to a third party.
The sale of Union Station Hotel is subject to normal closing conditions, and the company offers no assurances that this sale will be completed on these terms, or at all.
Pebblebrook, a publicly traded real estate investment trust and the largest owner of urban and resort lifestyle hotels in the U.S., is targeting to complete the sale in the third quarter of 2020.
Cumberland’s Vibativ gets good reviews
Nashville’s Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. has received positive feedback for its drug, Vibativ, a treatment of patients with bacteremia or endocarditis.
Vibativ (telavancin) is a potent, FDA-approved anti-infective for the treatment of serious bacterial infections, including hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia. It is also approved for complicated skin and skin structure infections. It addresses a range of Gram-positive bacterial pathogens, including those that are considered difficult-to-treat and multidrug-resistant.
The Telavancin Observational Use Registry was conducted to record population characteristics, prescription information and real-world clinical outcomes of patients with Gram-positive infections treated with Vibativ.
Of the 132 patients with an available assessment at the end of telavancin therapy, a positive clinical response was achieved in 74.2% while 10.6% failed therapy and 15.2% had an indeterminant outcome. There was no change in creatinine clearance for 75.3% patients with values recorded at the beginning and the end of telavancin therapy.
This sub analysis suggests telavancin is a promising and viable option for patients with bacteremia or endocarditis, including those with MRSA or another S. aureus pathogen.