Welcome to a special edition of the Better Together newsletter. We have an exciting update to share and wanted you to be among the first to know.
Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System officials are creating four community work groups designed to provide public input as the two organizations continue to explore the creation of a new, integrated and locally governed entity. Learn more ยป
The work groups will provide input in solving some of the region’s most challenging health issues:
- Mental Health and Addiction
- Healthy Children and Families
- Research and Academics
- Population Health and Healthy Communities
Through BecomingBetterTogether.org, we invite the community as well as subject matter experts such as nurses and other health professionals, doctors, public health officials and community advocates to get involved in these four work groups.
The work groups will:
- Begin meeting in July and continue through the end of the year.
- Hold public meetings throughout Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia to seek community input.
- Be led by a subject matter expert and include members from throughout the region who represent a broad variety of experience and perspectives. The group members will be determined soon.
- Be staffed by members of Mountain States and Wellmont along with master’s and doctoral level students from East Tennessee State University.
- Provide regular updates as well as final findings to the Integration Council, a group of executive and physician leaders from both systems who are overseeing the analysis and making preparations for the integration of the proposed combined system.
The work groups’ findings will be used by East Tennessee State University as part of a deep-dive health needs assessment that will be conducted after the proposed merger between Mountain States and Wellmont is complete. That assessment will provide a road map for the proposed new health system as it lays out a 10-year plan to improve community health.
Our organizations have committed to an open process as we consider the creation of a truly new health improvement organization for our region. These work groups provide a great opportunity for interested organizations and individuals to participate with us as we develop our strategies for improving the health of our area.
Visit BecomingBetterTogether.org to learn more about how to get involved. In the coming weeks and months, the website will be updated to include the latest work group news, meeting schedules and more.