Benchmarks 2021 | Section D | Health & Education

SECTION D

Health And Education

Benchmarks Edition, March 20, 2021

Page 2D

The Greeneville Sun Benchmarks Edition

GreenevilleSun.com

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Ballad At Center Of Year Like No Other

FILE PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN

In May, members of Indivisible Greene County, including Tammy Laws, left and Brenda Cutshaw, expressed their appreciation to staff members of Greeneville Community Hospital East.

They held signs of encouragement and appreciation at points in the parking lot for staff members to see as they left work. It was one of many expressions of appreciation for the employees by various groups and individuals during the pandemic.

As COVID-19 Sweeps Across The World, System Cares For The Region

BY EUGENIA ESTES STAFF WRITER On March 4 of last year, Ballad Health held a press conference to provide information about COVID-19 and how the public could help limit the spread of the virus.

A year later, much has changed for the health system and the Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia region it serves.

“This past year has been extremely difficult on our entire health system, particularly our team members, nurses and physicians working on the front lines,” said Eric Deaton, chief operating officer for Ballad Health. “But, nonetheless, Ballad Health and its team members stayed resilient and adapted to the needs of our community during these unprecedented times of dealing with a global pandemic.” {span}“With everyone working together, I am confident we can continue bringing the virus under control and seek our new ‘normal,’” Deaton said.{/span} Early March 2020 brought the first person to be tested in the region, whose test was negative. The first positive tests came about a week later, with the first case of the coronavirus in Greene County reported March 20.

Afterward, Ballad Health quickly activated its Corporate Emergency Operations Center to coordinate response efforts.

Before the end of the month, the health system opened a 24-hour call center through its Nurse Connect service for people who were experiencing symptoms and wished to speak to a health professional. The call center remains in service.

In addition to opening COVID-19 testing sites, Ballad Health responded to the pandemic with other measures, including suspension of elective surgeries, increased restrictions for patient visitation and additional efforts to provide information and promote safety measures among the public.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BALLAD HEALTH

In a photo shared by Ballad Health in December, ICU nurse Emily Egan works with a patient in the COVID-19 unit at Holston Valley Medical Center. She wears full personal protective equipment, and the room has enhanced precautions.

The health system’s resources were stretched thin at different times of the year, but had the most virus patients in December and the first few weeks of January due to surges in cases related to holiday gatherings.

The system’s peak thus far was more than 350 COVID-19 patients in early January.

Hospital cases also tripled

during a period in July. At that time, staff from smaller hospitals, such as the Greeneville facility, were transferred to the larger system hospitals such as Johnson City and Holston Valley medical centers to work in COVID-19 units when patient numbers increased.

PROMOTING SAFETY

MEASURES Throughout the pandemic thus far, Ballad Health has provided statistics about cases and community spread of the virus and shared information about how people can protect themselves and help prevent the spread of the virus on a regular basis.

COVID-19 briefings began to

be held three times a week at the beginning of the pandemic, but the schedule went to once a week and then to none as cases fell last spring.

However, as the cases picked up again in the summer, the briefings resumed, primarily once a week. A common part of the briefing began to be comments from nurses, doctors or other healthcare professionals caring for COVID-19 patients and those who had lost loved ones to the illness.

Hannah Shipp, a registered nurse in the intensive care unit at Sycamore Shoals Hospital in Elizabethton, said in December, “There are not enough words to describe what it is like in our hospitals and what is happening with these patients.

As an ICU nurse, I have cared for some very sick people, but COVID-19 patients are the sickest I have ever treated.”

“Every day I feel the grief of families and individuals as they struggle with separation and uncertainties of life and death decisions,” she said. “I have seen fear in patients’ eyes as they struggle to do the simplest, everyday tasks. They look to me for answers, but I don’t have them.”

Also in December, intensive care unit nurse Emily Egan expressed the frustration that exhausted frontline health workers were feeling as cases virus cases surged and positive-test rates reached new highs.

“We’re losing more than we’re keeping,” Egan said in a video shared during a Ballad Health briefing. “I’ve put an ungodly amount of people in body bags that I was not prepared to do, that I was not prepared to give up on a patient, but there was nothing else we could do and we lost them.”

A common message that has been echoed throughout the pandemic by Ballad Health is the importance of measures such as social distancing, wearing a facial coverings, and SEE BALLAD ON PAGE 4

Benchmarks D Story Index

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Ballad At Center Of Year Like No Other .............................................................................. 2 Local Schools Continued Work During Pandemic .............................................................. 5 Strong Futures Program To Be Housed On Greeneville West Campus .............................. 7 Greene Technology Center Adds Aviation Flight Program .................................................8 Tusculum University Maintains Focus Amid Pandemic ..................................................... 9 Walters State Has Eventful Year During Pandemic ...........................................................11

Fitness Guide ........................................................................................................................ 4 Greene County Schools....................................................................................................... 10 Greeneville City Schools ....................................................................................................... 6 Life Care Center of Greeneville ............................................................................................ 5 Morning Pointe Assisted Living ........................................................................................... 6 Nursing Home Guide............................................................................................................3 Pharmacy Guide ..................................................................................................................11 Smile Solutions .....................................................................................................................8 Summit Urgent Care of Greeneville .....................................................................................8 Tusculum Family Physicians .............................................................................................. 10

GreenevilleSun.com

Saturday, March 20, 2021

The Greeneville Sun Benchmarks Edition

Page 3D

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Page 4D

The Greeneville Sun Benchmarks Edition

Saturday, March 20, 2021

GreenevilleSun.com

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN

Ballad Health practiced social distancing in conducting its weekly media briefings about the coronavirus. Executive Chairman, President and CEO Alan Levine answered questions during a briefing in March that used video platform software to allow media members to participate remotely.

BALLAD CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

good hygiene including frequent hand washing.

“This is serious. You can’t overreact to a virus nobody has immunity to — we have to take steps to prevent it,” Ballad Health Chief Executive Officer and President Alan Levine said in the first weeks of the pandemic. “If we want to protect the people we love, we all must be serious about social distancing, hand washing and other preventive actions.”

As local governments began to implement mask mandates in the summer as cases increased, Ballad Health was supportive of the measure.

“I am sure you have heard that my mask protects you and your mask protects me,” said Jamie Swift, chief infection prevention officer for Ballad Health. “I know it is not always convenient, but it is truly necessary as you are out.”

The system provided tool kits to business in the regions about best practices to protect employees and customers from the virus in May as many retail stores and restaurants reopened after closing in the early weeks of the pandemic.

The system also became a participant in a national study, headed by the Mayo Clinic, on the effectiveness of using convalescent plasma from people who had recovered from the virus to treat those hospitalized with the illness.

Officials said that the treatment was proving effective and had been credited by some as saving their lives. The health system continues to encourage people who have had the virus to give plasma.

SUN FILE PHOTO

Ballad Health President and CEO Alan Levine answers questions at a press conference about the system’s preparations for treating COVID-19 in early March of 2020. To his left is Dr. Amit Vashist, chief clinical officer for Ballad Health, and to the right is Jamie Swift, corporate director of infection prevention for the health care system.

and for pediatric patients.

The health system also suspended non-emergency elective surgeries based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies. As virus cases declined, the health system resumed its elective surgeries in early May. Elective surgeries continued until numbers again began to rise in November. The system stopped elective surgeries and redeployed surgical staff to provide additional caregivers needed to care for the increasing number of virus patients.

The elective surgeries resumed in January.

To help limit the number of virus patients MEASURES TO in the hospital, Ballad CONTROL SPREAD Health began a program In the early weeks of the to provide tele-health pandemic, Ballad Health monitoring and support restricted visitation to of patients at home who its facilities, screening were on the borderline visitors for symptoms and of needing hospitalizawhether they had traveled tion. That measure was to areas where the virus credited by Ballad Health was known to be spreadofficials with keeping ing. hundreds of people out Within a little more of the hospital during the than a week of the first post-holidays surge in reported case, Ballad cases.

Health had restricted visiOnce vaccines became tation within its hospitals, available, Ballad Health long-term care facilities began vaccinating its and behavioral health frontline and other staff treatment centers, with members and along with visitors only allowed in the state was the first to labor and delivery units, offer vaccines to those neonatal intensive care over 75.

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GreenevilleSun.com

Saturday, March 20, 2021

The Greeneville Sun Benchmarks Edition

Page 5D

SUN FILE PHOTO

The end of the 2020 spring semester looked very different compared to normal, but teachers and other school staff improvised safe ways to commemorate the end of the year. One way to do so involved teachers forming a procession in their cars to drive by students’ homes to say goodbye. In this May, 2020 photo, a procession of teachers and school buses is leaving Tusculum View Elementary School. “We wanted to have some closure to the end of the year for students and teachers,” said Tusculum View Principal Dr. Lana Luttrell. “They’re grieving the end of the year, and this is a way for teachers and students to say goodbye.” Luttrell said students that don’t ride the bus and their families were invited to the Greene County Fairgrounds for their send off.

Local Schools Continued Work During Pandemic

BY CICELY BABB STAFF WRITER When students in both local school systems went home for spring break on Friday, March 13, 2020, they thought they would be returning in just over a week to finish out the school year.

Instead, three days later Tennessee joined the growing list of states to close schools statewide in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, and students and families heard from both directors of schools that they would follow Governor Bill Lee’s recommendations to close at least through the end of the month.

Then, as the pandemic worsened, what was initially thought of as an

SUN FILE PHOTO

Masks and increased spacing between desks in classrooms were part of schools’ safety precautions. In this photo from October, Tennessee CommisSEE SCHOOLS ON PAGE 6 sioner of Education Dr. Penny Schwinn, standing, listens to a lesson on Chaucer in Mona Thomas’ English class at West Greene High School.

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Page 6D

The Greeneville Sun Benchmarks Edition

GreenevilleSun.com

Saturday, March 20, 2021

SUN FILE PHOTO

{span}Greeneville High School’s 2020 commencement ceremony was delayed until August and looked very different from previous ones, with seniors seated at COVID-safe distances on the Burley Stadium field. The stage upon which presenters stood, and upon which each graduate received a diploma, is visible at the left.{/span}

SCHOOLS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

extended spring break became an extended closure as the return date was pushed back, and schools were soon working to resume the spring semester online.

Lee’s recommendations also pertained to extracurricular activities including sports, and as the return date was extended, it became clear that end-of-year celebrations like proms and graduations would also be affected.

High school seniors were uniquely affected in that they knew they would not be coming back the next school year, regardless of how the pandemic played out. Chuckey-Doak High School senior Cristina Vazquez described the feeling as being “in limbo,” while senior student athletes Ty Youngblood of Greeneville High and Colton Fulk of West Greene High School described feelings of loss over their final track and field seasons.

“When this started happening and everything was stopping, our plans were halted, but time doesn’t stop,” said Vazquez.

“It’s just really heartbreaking to forego the spring sports and classroom activities,” said Youngblood.

“It’s really just a sad thing for all seniors to not be able to experience the last bit of high school.”

Fulk said he was also concerned that his future would be impacted because he had planned to pursue track and field after high school.

“I guess I kind of feel robbed about the whole situation,” Fulk said.

Vazquez said she played fall sports and, knowing the feeling of that last game, felt for students in Fulk’s and Youngblood’s situation, but she was also wondering what would happen with prom.

“We’re about to start a new chapter in our lives and we don’t get a chance to close the chapter we’re in now,” Vazquez said.

Local students did get a prom, however, although it was a different type of prom. While school proms were ultimately canceled, community volunteers organized a “United Prom 2020” drive-in prom at the Greene County Fairgrounds.

Graduation plans were also significantly altered, with Greeneville High School seniors waiting for an outdoor ceremony at Burley Stadium in August, and Greene County Schools organizing private individual ceremonies, which were filmed and edited into a video for students to keep.

“It may not be your normal graduation, but these are not normal circumstances,” said Director of Schools David McLain.

With essentially every aspect of school disrupted or called off in the spring, school staff worked first to feed students who rely on school meals and to resume the semester in a different format.

MEAL SERVICES Many students relied on school lunches before the pandemic, so continuing to provide meals for students who need them became a top priority for districts and family resource centers when schools closed.

SUN FILE PHOTO

North and West Greene high school friends enjoyed some time together in the back of pickup during United Prom 2020 at the Greene County Fairgrounds. From left are Maggie Elkins, James Staton, Gracie Weems and Jodie Worthy.

Greeneville City Schools’ nutrition department offered drive-thru meal sites at Greeneville High School and Hal Henard Elementary, and bus drivers also delivered meals as needed. The district discontinued meal deliveries in November due to declining demand.

Greene County Schools’ contracted meal service Chartwells provided similar meal sites at several schools throughout the school closure, and other food distributions were organized for students and families through Save the Children.

LeAnn Myers, data and assessment supervisor for Greene County Schools, said in October that those services were much needed.

“I think we are seeing more families popping up at different times who are food insecure, maybe because of job situations that have not been stable for a time, but everybody is subject to it now,” Myers said. “So I think we are seeing more families in need for a short period of time, and then they get back on their feet. Based on the numbers of people we are seeing take advantage of food distributions, I would say we’re looking at maybe 25% or better of our student body that maybe at one time was not impacted but is now being impacted by food insecurity.”

internet from home whether for financial, geographic- and infrastructure-related, or other reasons, and without it, they could not participate in online learning.

For Greeneville City Schools, the use of portable my-fi internet access devices offered a solution, and the district was able to provide internet on a short term basis by placing those devices on a school bus, which was then parked in a central, accessible location for students.

Assistant Director for Administration and Chief Technology Officer for the district Beverly Miller also organized a drive for used portable wifi devices and received many donated devices which were distributed to students. The district purchased remaining devices and internet security to provide internet for the remaining 75 students in April.

The district then began developing its full-time online learning program EDGE, to become a permanent option for students beyond the pandemic.

“I think its time that we as a society embrace the fact that broadband internet is the same as water and electricity for our students,” Miller said at the city schools’ legislative breakfast in January, where she discussed the need for equitable internet access with legislators.

“Accessibility is one thing, but ACADEMICS ONLINE I’ve learned that sometimes even While Greene County Schools though it’s accessible, it’s not afhad an existing full-time online fordable, and many of our families learning option in place prior to the living in poverty need solutions.” pandemic, and many teachers in While Greene County Schools’ both districts were already conduct- online learning option GOAL had ing many aspects of their classes been in place prior to the pandemonline, the sudden shift presented ic, the district had not implementchallenges. ed it at such a large scale. Not all “We were prepared in that we students had a personal device, and had the devices, but we hadn’t a significant number of them did planned for it,” Assistant Director not have reliable internet access at for Instruction in the city school home, for many because they did system Dr. Suzanne Bryant said. not live within Comcast’s network “We had to make sure in the spring reach. that all our students had their de“It’s a huge challenge in a rural vices at home and make sure they setting with rural roads,” Director all had internet, and then it was of Schools David McLain said in emergency teaching until we had July as he was preparing to meet time to plan in the summer.” with local church leaders to discuss The sudden need to shift to possible partnerships to provide across-the-board online instruction internet to students if schools could also exposed weaknesses locally not open in the fall. in terms of internet access, as not “A lot of districts have put my-fi all students were able to access the devices on buses and parked them

make changes was school transportation, including assigning seats and making requests to parents to drive their children to and from school if possible to minimize the number of students on a bus.

“It makes it just a bit easier,” Kristen Rollins, transportation supervisor for Greeneville City Schools said, to have fewer students on a bus. “We have been taking precautions like having hand sanitizer on each bus and asking students to use it, and students are required to wear masks. It makes it a bit easier to monitor that with smaller groups.”

“More people will make more problems, but we just have to deal with it with the masks, hand washing and assigned seats,” Greene County Schools’ Assistant Director of Operations and Student Services George Frye said.

Rollins said students were so eager to get back to school that they may be more adaptive to the new procedures.

“I think most kids understand the protocols and the risk, and RETURNING TO SCHOOL they understand what they have School safety took on a new to do to get back to school and see meaning as districts nationwide their friends,” Rollins said shortly were preparing to start the current before Greeneville City Schools school year. Masks became part of brought students back to schools school dress codes, and other polon a hybrid schedule. “I think it’ll icies such as assigned seating and take probably the first couple weeks more stringent cleaning measures to get it down, but that’s normal to were introduced. have a little learning curve.”

Both local school boards Greene County Schools bus drivapproved school operations and er William Brobeck said that was procedures dependent upon the his experience in the first week of level of COVID-19 spread in the county schools students starting on community, and Greene County the hybrid schedule.

Schools also adopted CDC Critical “I’ve been driving the same kids Infrastructure designation. Stufor years. They’ve already been dents in both districts started the talked to and they know what to do, fall semester online and were given and they all automatically went to the option of whether to stay online their seats. or return in person when permit“Everybody is working diligently ted, while doors were opened only to deal with this issue, and we’re all to small groups of students conmaking changes to do what’s best sidered vulnerable. Those students for the safety of the students during included the youngest students and these unprecedented times,” Frye students with disabilities. Greene said.

County Schools also included Both districts reported serious students who still could not access shortages in substitute teachers and the internet from home and was the were forced to temporarily close first to send students back to phys- schools during the fall semester ical classrooms on a split hybrid because of staffing issues, and both schedule in September and then to also started the spring semester four-day in-person instruction. online, although both are now back Among the areas schools had to to four-day in person instruction. somewhere for students to access, but the problem in Greene County is that, while we have subdivisions and trailer parks, they’re so spread out that finding a central location for the bus is a challenge,” McLain said.

The district also purchased my-fi devices for families who could use them, but it was not a viable solution for all of the students needing internet.

Some of those students’ homes are so remote that even getting a cellphone signal might be difficult, McLain said.

Many churches agreed to help, and a list of participating churches and relevant information to access their internet was added to the district’s website, as well as instructions to access school internet from the parking lots.

Both districts utilized CARES Act funds for technology and internet access and both continue to offer full-time online learning to students enrolled in that option.

GreenevilleSun.com

Saturday, March 20, 2021

The Greeneville Sun Benchmarks Edition

Page 7D

Strong Futures Program To Be Housed On Greeneville West Campus

BY EUGENIA ESTES STAFF WRITER A portion of the former Takoma Hospital facility is being repurposed for a new regional program to address the needs of pregnant women and mothers suffering with drug addiction or other mental health conditions.

Strong Futures was announced

by Ballad Health in late January, and facilities inside the medical office building on the Greeneville Community Hospital West campus as well as the former hospital facility will be used for the new program.

Outpatient clinic space in the medical office building at the corner of East Vann Road and Takoma Avenue is scheduled to be ready for use by the end of March. Facilities inside the former Takoma Hospital building to provide space for program participants who need housing is anticipated to be ready in the late summer.

Applications are being accepted for program, which has a mission to provide pregnant women who suffer from addiction, their babies and families an opportunity for a new beginning and to thrive. In addition to Greene, the new program is to serve Carter, Cocke, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington counties.

“Ballad Health is proud to bring these much-needed services to women in the Appalachian Highlands,” said Tammy Albright, vice president and chief executive officer of Ballad Health Behavioral Health Services and former president of Greeneville Community Hospital, at the program announcement.

“By offering addiction and other behavioral health services to mothers, Strong Futures takes important steps toward addressing our community’s health as a whole,” Albright said. “The program will provide a range of both residential and outpatient services to women who are pregnant or are providing for their underage children.”

“By confronting substance abuse at a community level, we are also taking steps to toward breaking the cycle of generational poverty in the Appalachian

SUN FILE PHOTO

An outpatient clinic for Strong Futures was the site for an update about the program in early March. From left are Dr. Michael Bermes, senior director of addiction services for Ballad Health, Thomas Tull, chief experience officer, and Tammy Albright, vice president and chief executive officer of behavioral health services.

Highlands,” she continued. “We know the answer to improving health and the quality of life in our region lies outside of just addressing medical care. Addiction, poverty and education — these are all pieces that must be addressed to meeting these critical needs for our region.”

HOLISTIC APPROACH Dr. Michael Bermes, senior director of addiction services for Ballad Health, said he was considering retirement when he heard about Strong Futures, which differs from programs he worked with in the past that did not go to the level needed to permanently change a life.

“Substance use and addiction are one leg on the buffet table,” he said. “This is more complex than stopping drinking or stop-

ping taking drugs. People get to those places in their lives not because they wake up and say, ‘I want to be a world champion Budweiser drinker.’ That just doesn’t happen. But, there are other broken pieces that form that change in their life.”

Strong Futures differs from other programs in that it creates a holistic approach to tackling the issues that may have led to substance abuse and helps the person take the steps necessary along a life changing continuum to self sufficiency and thriving, Bermes said.

A team approach is one of the strengths of the program, he continued. An individual will work with the same team during the treatment period, and the team will be available whenever

SUN FILE PHOTO

General Sessions Judge Ken Bailey, left, is interviewed about the Strong Futures program by Thomas Tull, chief experience officer for Ballad Health, in March as part of a live broadcast on the health system’s media channels. The update about the program was one of the announcements SEE PROGRAM ON PAGE 8 related to the unveiling of the new Niswonger Children’s Network.

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Page 8D

The Greeneville Sun Benchmarks Edition

GreenevilleSun.com

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Greene Technology Center Adds Aviation Flight Program

BY CICELY BABB STAFF WRITER A new aviation flight program took off at the Greene Technology Center in 2020, and technology center principal Randy Wells said big plans are in the works, including for dual enrollment opportunities in the program.

With both student interest and projected growth in the region for commercial pilots, the program was approved for the technology center in January of 2020 and implemented at the start of the 2020-21 school year with U.S. Army Capt. Josh Elkins as instructor and 14 students enrolled.

The program is designed to prepare students to take the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Private Pilot written exam and to advance through the required training hours for a range of aviation careers.

Material covered includes aircraft structures, flight environment, procedures and regulations, aerodynamics of flight, judgement training, navigation and communications, according to the technology center’s 2020 brochure.

Wells told the Joint Board of Education in January 2020 that 28% of eighth graders asked said they were interested in the program, and a 22.6% projected growth rate in the region for commercial pilots makes it a “high wage and high skill career.”

The joint board combines the Greeneville City and Greene County school boards to oversee the Greene Technology Center. It meets quarterly.

“It will be expensive, but we really think there are pilots in Greeneville and Greene County,” Wells said.

The board approved the use of $20,000 in federal Carl Perkins grant funds to purchase equipment for the program, and the teacher position was funded by replacing a vacant pre-engineering position.

Now that it is in place, Wells said the next step is to continue developing the program and building partnerships to strengthen and expand it.

“We are working on partnering with the airport and looking at dual enrollment,” Wells said recently. “TCAT and Northeast State in Blountville both have aviation programs. Northeast State has aviation flight, and TCAT in Morristown has airframe and power plant programs.”

Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) operates locally from the Greene Technology Center and there are currently six dual enrollment programs in place through that partnership.

“Our program is aviation flight, and we’re tailoring the program to hopefully encompass flight and also satisfy dual enrollment requirements for TCAT,” Wells said.

The joint school board has also learned that the center is being considered for a new Tango Flight program, in which high school

PROGRAM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

they need them even beyond the completion of the program.

This team will consist of an outpatient therapist, a care case manager, a certified peer recovery specialist and a child therapist. The certified peer recovery specialist will be a special part

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN/GTC

South Greene High School student Blake May and West Greene student Adian Reed work on computer-based portions of the new aviation flight program at the Greene Technology Center.

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN/GTC

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN/GTC

Tyler Graham, a student at North Greene High School works on a flight simulation program as part of the new aviation flight program at the Greene Technology Center.

Aviation flight students Adian Reed and Blake May practice aircraft construction skills with sheet metal, drilled holes and rivets. Instructor Josh Elkins supervises.

students build and fly an aircraft.

Wells said that would cost a further roughly $100,000 to implement, if it is approved when it comes before the board later this year.

“We are an educational nonprofit company created to inspire the next engineers, pilots, aviation mechanics and technicians,” Tango Flight President Daniel Weyant told the board in January. “Yes, we build a real airplane.”

Tango Flight is currently avail-

able in 10 schools across the country, and Weyant said it is looking to add 10 more schools. Weyant said he is particularly interested in bringing the program to Greene County because he and his wife own land in the area and plan to retire locally.

Wells said he expects enrollment in the program to increase.

“It’s just starting and we didn’t get a chance to recruit into it, but it typically takes a year or two to

ramp up,” Wells said.

He said the pandemic affected enrollment across the board.

“Most of our classes have a large hands-on skill component, and that doesn’t lend itself well to online learning,” Wells said. “We were able to alter classes to the online format, but it’s just not as good of a fit, so enrollment has been down this year in every program. We anticipate it will recover in the fall.”

Despite the disruptions of the pandemic, the Greene Technology Center also earned American Welding Society (AWS) accreditation as a testing facility, and assisted more than 300 local students with earning Work Ethic Diplomas in 2020.

For more information about the Greene Technology Center and the programs offered there, visit www.gtc.gcschools.net or call 639-0171.

of the team, he said, explaining that these are individuals who are in recovery from addiction and have completed intense training to be able to help a family.

“They have been there,” Bermes said. “They have all those life experiences, those touch points. They can say, ‘It is okay.

I have been there. We can do this together.’ It is a very important

skill set we have embedded in the team.”

Each person has a different path to recovery, he said, and the program will be tailored to an individual’s needs. Some of the care may also include participation from other family members.

Patients in the program can receive services for up to 24 months, and the program focuses on a wide array of addic-

tive behaviors and conditions, Bermes said.

Care may include such services as educational opportunities, workplace development skills and financial literacy to help a mother be self-sufficient and successful, he said.

“When a person is finished, we want to them to thrive,” the doctor said. “We don’t them to be just sober or mentally well but to

thrive in all phases of life.”

Strong Futures will also be part of the Niswonger Children’s Network, announced in early March. The network is a regional system of health care and community services striving to provide high standards of care and well-being for children, regardless of where they live, across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.

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GreenevilleSun.com

Saturday, March 20, 2021

The Greeneville Sun Benchmarks Edition

Page 9D

SUN FILE PHOTO

Tusculum University freshmen students, from left, Ethan Medeiros and Anthony Sterry, help with landscaping work at the welcome center on campus in September. What normally was Tusculum’s Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day was expanded in 2020 to Nettie Week, with service projects on campus due to COVID-19.

Tusculum University Maintains Focus Amid Pandemic

BY JIM WOZNIAK TUSCULUM UNIVERSITY In a year that required everyone in the world to adjust because of the coronavirus, Tusculum University demonstrated that challenging times highlight the institution’s commitment to civic engagement and a caring Christian environment.

Precautions that reduced group settings provided an opportunity for Tusculum to develop innovative ways to keep the community connected. For example, the university offered seven free virtual book clubs from June to August that were led by faculty and staff members via Zoom.

“We welcomed the opportunity to engage with the community and assembled an excellent group of book leaders who were excited to discuss some thought-provoking books,” said Kathy Hipps, director of the Thomas J. Garland Library on Tusculum’s Greeneville campus.

The university also offered a free six-week class, called “Pandemic! Perspectives,” for community members that enabled residents to learn about the coronavirus situation through history, criminal justice, business and economics, nursing, sociology and public health lenses.

“One of the best ways academia can serve students and the PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN/TUSCULUM UNIVERSITY community is to respond to what Tusculum University students Taylor Locklear, left, and Mason McHugh walk on the Greeneville campus. is taking place in the world and examine the subject across several disciplines,” said Wayne Thomas, dean of the College of Civic and Liberal Arts, who developed the course.

Tusculum fostered its relationship with the community in other ways. Dr. Scott Hummel’s arrival as Tusculum’s president provided the opportunity for him to host community members for a meetand-greet and hold a separate event to share one-on-one time with area faith leaders. Hummel quickly extended his relationship with the community by joining the Rotary Club and serving as a member of the Greene County Partnership board of directors.

Once the pandemic arrived, Erin Schultz, Tusculum’s costume director, made 6,300 face coverings for people, including 300 for Greeneville High School’s graduation in August. She will make 300 more for the high school’s May graduation.

Tusculum also showed compassion toward its students when the university had to close residence halls and move all classes online during the spring semester in 2020. Some international students could not return SUN FILE PHOTO home because of closed borders in Jill Robinette, right, and Amy Root of Tusculum University’s facilities and maintenance crew clean a classroom in the Meen Center with a chemical their home country, and a small SEE TUSCULUM ON PAGE 10

called Virex in June. The increased frequency of cleaning and the use of Virex were among measures Tusculum took to mitigate the risks associated with bringing students back to campus amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Page 10D

The Greeneville Sun Benchmarks Edition

GreenevilleSun.com

Saturday, March 20, 2021

TUSCULUM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

number of other students needed to stay as well. Staff members responded by providing snacks, sweets and beverages to supplement meals the university was providing to those 20 students.

Other staff members provided some of their personal funds for the cause.

“We want the students to feel at home while they are here and know we are fully behind them,” Ashley Edens, director of financial aid, explained at the time. “A lot of them don’t have cars to head to the store to get additional items they might want, so this is a way to help them.”

Some students experienced difficulties in the online environment away from campus because they did not have laptops or adequate internet access or had financial hardships. Many people donated to the Student Emergency Fund to help these Pioneers remain enrolled and successfully complete the semester.

The long-term goal was to have students return to campus and have in-person classes again when it was safe and the university could enact the necessary protective measures. Hummel appointed a Reopening Task Force, which spent months consulting health experts, reviewing guidance from state and federal agencies and engaging in internal discussions to craft a detailed plan.

The plan enabled residence

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN/TUSCULUM UNIVERSITY

Tusculum University nursing student Emily Stoklosa administers a COVID-19 vaccine in February as part of the nursing program’s effort to help the Sullivan County Regional Health Department.

halls to reopen and in-person classes to resume but with effective protocols, such as face covering requirements, physical distancing and frequent hand washing. Faculty office hours and advising sessions took place virtually or by phone. Tusculum established

procedures for any Tusculum family members who tested positive or were deemed a contact.

As a result of the extensive measures the university enacted, Tusculum had relatively few coronavirus cases. Tusculum nursing

students are now helping the Sullivan County Regional Health Department with the vaccination process in that community.

In spite of the challenges associated with the coronavirus, Tusculum still achieved multiple successes. The

university held virtual graduations for about 350 students in August and about 190 in December. With appropriate limitations, Tusculum was able to hold seven performances of “The Tragedy of Macbeth” on campus in November and host Central Ballet’s “The Snow Queen: A Frozen Adventure” in January.

Students were still able to participate in a day of service work in September. What normally was Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day was expanded this year to Nettie Week and incorporated many events that memorialized the victims of 9/11, honored first responders and members of the military and called attention to the issue of suicide.

The university has continued to succeed academically. Continuing a string of recognitions for its College of Business in the last few years, Tusculum was picked by study.com as 20th in a listing of the 2020 Best Business Management Schools in the United States. The same website also named the College of Business among the Top 50 Business Schools in the nation. BestValueSchools.org recently selected Tusculum’s MBA program as fifth best in Tennessee.

The good news extended to other areas of the university.

Tusculum’s master of arts in organizational training and performance management, which is part of the College of Education, earned accreditation from the Accreditation Council on Business Schools and Programs.

In addition, an evaluation by the Tennessee State Board of Education of Tusculum graduates who are teaching in Tennessee schools showed they are exceeding state averages in their observation scores from principals as well as in student academic growth and levels of overall effectiveness.

Prior to the pandemic, Tusculum was able to hold its popular Theologian-In-Residence series on campus attracting representatives from about 50 churches and 200 participants. This year, the event was converted to a virtual format but still attracted impressive numbers.

Tusculum was also selected for 2020-21 as a member of the First-gen Forward Cohort, a prestigious national group of the Center for First-Generation Student Success. This was particularly applicable to Tusculum because more than 50 percent of Tusculum’s student body consists of students whose parents or guardians have not earned a bachelor’s degree.

“While this year has challenged everyone, we are pleased with the many positive developments we have achieved,” Hummel said. “Our faculty and staff are committed to providing an active and experiential education so that our students are equipped to be career-ready professionals and to use their pioneering spirit. We are also grateful for the community’s support and look forward to continuing to grow our relationship with Greene County.”

WE BELIEVE: Education is the most important service a community provides for itself.

All children can learn, and most can learn at very high levels.

Skilled teachers and support staff make the difference.

Strong leaders set the tone.

Useful data provide direction.

Safe, clean, appropriate facilities and 21st century resources are a necessity.

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Students in Greene County Schools will develop a joy for learning; graduates from Greene County Schools will be prepared to enter the workforce with an industry certificate, to enroll in a community college with dual credits earned, or to enroll in a four-year college or university with ACT scores that forecast success. Furthermore, graduates will be contributing citizens demonstrating responsible, ethical behavior.

SCHOOL BOARD David McLain, Director of Schools Rick Tipton, Chairman Nathan Brown, Vice Chairman Minnie Banks

Tom Cobble Michelle Holt Mark Rothe Brian Wilhoit

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The Greeneville Sun 121 West Summer Street Greeneville www.greenevillesun.com

GreenevilleSun.com

Saturday, March 20, 2021

The Greeneville Sun Benchmarks Edition

Page 11D

Walters State Has Eventful Year During Pandemic Community College Marks Anniversary, Continues Development Of Greeneville Campus

BY DEBRA WILLIAMS WSCC Walters State Community College is celebrating its 50th anniversary during 2020-21.

Walters State has had a presence in Greene County almost since the very beginning. Classes were offered at Greeneville Middle School in 1975. From there, classes moved into the historic Crescent School Building, the Greeneville/Greene County Vocational Annex, and, eventually, Laughlin Memorial Hospital.

The Walters State Niswonger Campus in Greeneville celebrated its official completion in fall 2019 and all classes were moved into the 104,000-square-foot building.

The campus was designed to complement the historical structures around it. The building

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN/WSCC

A small group of choir students at Walters State Community College rehearse in November for online performances, which were posted to the colSEE WALTERS ON PAGE 12 lege’s YouTube page.

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Page 12D

The Greeneville Sun Benchmarks Edition

Saturday, March 20, 2021

GreenevilleSun.com

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN

Walters State Community College in Greeneville is seen in an aerial shot.

WALTERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

also incorporates and reflects architectural elements used on historic college campuses located in Appalachia. Features include an outdoor amphitheater, an allied health simulation lab, a learning-support emporium and a 234-seat theatre. The college was previously housed in the former Laughlin Memorial Hospital.

Over 1,000 students are enrolled at the campus.

The road to this campus expansion began in 2010, when Walters State received a $9 million capital outlay grant from the state of Tennessee to use in construction of the Niswonger Campus. Construction officially began in 2013.

Portions of the new building opened to students in fall 2017.

The campus is named in honor of Greeneville businessman and entrepreneur Scott Niswonger, who donated $5 million of his own money and became a champion of the project.

Later in 2020, Walters State removed the previous building, the former Laughlin Hospital.

The land will be used for parking and for a green space.

As the world faced a pandemic and East Tennessee saw its first cases of COVID-19, Walters State made safety a priority. The college remained a vibrant place of learning with classes offered through several different formats.

Walters State’s extensive experience with digital technology and online instruction made it possible to make the switch to online instruction during spring break 2020. This prevented the college from losing any administrative days.

The college’s rich history with online learning made this possible.

Walters State has consistently been named an Apple Distinguished School for the innovative use of technology in the classroom. The Center for Digital Education has consistently ranked the college in the top 10 of the center’s “tech-savvy” mid-sized colleges across the nation. The college topped the list in 2019.

Walters State offered its first online class in 1998.

Creative faculty members found ways to bring live events online. The Walters State Debate Team continued competing through online practices and virtual debate tournaments. Theater students presented a live radio program based on Alfred Hitchcock’s work.

SUN FILE PHOTO

Walters State Community College began demolition in the fall of the former Laughlin Memorial Hospital building, which at one time housed the college’s Greeneville campus, to make room for parking and a green space.

Athletic teams returned to action in January with limited seating. The college’s basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball and golf teams are contenders for regional and national titles.

Now, as vaccination rates increase and the number of COVID-19 cases fall, administrators are looking forward to the time when all students will be back on campus.

Walters State’s mission to provide educational opportunities for its service area is now empowered by several programs making the college tuition-free.

Tennessee Promise makes community colleges tuition-free for recent high school graduates, while Tennessee Reconnect provides a tuition-free grant for adult learners. Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect may be combined with other aid such as Walters State Foundation Scholarship or the Tennessee Hope Lottery Scholarship, which will offset non-tuition costs.

Registration begins April 5 for summer 2021 and fall 2021 semesters. For more information, visit www.ws.edu.

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PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN

Brian O’Dell, distance education specialist at Walters State Community College, meets with students online in June to discuss dual enrollment options. Typically in person, Walters State moved the enrollment online due to COVID-19.

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THE GREENEVILLE SUN www.greenevillesun.com