Norton Community Hospital Inc

“In February of 2021, an Articles of Merger was completed between NCH and Wellmont Health System (WHS). On February 28, 2021 NCH merged into WHS (the surviving entity), which is owned by Ballad Health.”

“Norton Community Hospital is a Virginia non-stock, nonprofit corporation. After Mountain States Health Alliance (MSHA) purchase of Community Health Care Foundations 49% membership (FY20), it resulted in MSHA being the sole member. Additional hospitals located in Wise Co. are Mountain View Regional Hospital (MVRH) and Lonesome Pine Hospital (LPH) which are reported on Wellmont Health System (WHS)s 990. As of February 2021, NCH merged with these hospitals in order to optimize healthcare in Wise County. This will be the final separate return for NCH. Norton Community Physician Services will have a member substitution from NCH to WHS as its parent.”

“After purchasing Community Health Care Foundations 49% membership during FY20,MSHA board of directors also became NCHs board of directors.”

“Certain decisions of the board are, pursuant to charter and Virginia stature, subject to approval of the members. These decisions include: dissolution of the corporation; merger of the corporation; non-ordinary course of business sale of assets, etc. No ordinary day-to-day decisions are subject to member approval.”

“The Ballad Health Tax Department prepares and reviews the Form 990. During preparation other functional areas within the organization provide information and support to complete an accurate return. The return is reviewed by the organization's CFO and is provided in electronic form to all members of the Board of Directors prior to being filed with the IRS.”

“Ballad Health has a conflict-of-interest policy for all members of the Board of Directors, the Executive Chair/President, Executive Vice Presidents, Senior Vice Presidents, and Vice Presidents, and applies to all Ballad Health organizations, including Norton Community Hospital. All persons covered by this policy are required to complete a conflict of interest disclosure form on an annual basis. Should a conflict arise, it is the responsibility of the conflicted individual to update his or her disclosure immediately. All meetings of the board or board committees have a standing agenda item first on the agenda titled Conflicts of Interest. If a member of the board or board committee has a conflict of interest involving any issue on the board agenda, he or she must declare the conflict of interest during the period allotted for disclosure. If any issue arises during a meeting in which the board member has a conflict of interest, he or she must immediately declare the conflict. While each member of the board or board committee is responsible for disclosing conflicts of interest, it is also the responsibility of any board member aware of a conflict which has not been disclosed to ensure the board is made aware. The presiding officer of a board or board committee meeting may ask a conflicted member to excuse themselves from the meeting during the discussion related to the issue with which the conflict of interest applies. Under no circumstances shall a member vote on a matter that gives rise to a potential conflict.”

“Governing documents and conflict of interest policy are made available upon request to the appropriate parties requesting them. Financial statements are made available upon request to appropriate parties requesting them, and they are made available to those parties who own indebtedness of the company on a quarterly basis.”

“Similar to NCH/DCH's CEO, NCH's CFO receives compensation that complies with Ballad Healths salary policy. The pay is set at a market percentile specific to his position as CFO of NW Region which includes NCH.The executive committee reviewed and approved compensation for all Ballad Health executives at the vice-president level and above during FY21 using the same methodology used to determine the CEO's compensation. In addition, Ballad Health offers an incentive plan to executives based on targeted achievement metrics approved by the Ballad Health Board of Directors which include Quality of Care, Access to Care, Cost Management, etc.Key employees, Robert Kennedy, Wise Co. COO, and Bonnie Jensen, Wise Co. CNO, are not Vice-Presidents or in a senior leadership position, therefore their compensation and benefits are consistent with other NCH non-executive positions.”

“Director Compensation: NCH's Board of Directors, Alan Levine, Marvin Eichorn, Eric Deaton and Tim Belisle receive compensation for services provided to related organizations and do not receive compensation for services as a NCH board member.”

“OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 4: Health Professions Education:NCH serves as a clinical training facility for health professional education students. We have dedicated staff to work with regional colleges and universities to coordinate the placement of healthcare professional students as part of their educational curriculum. In addition to clinical training, the health care students entering our system are required to have orientation and computer training. Participants receiving clinical experience at NCH were 75 nursing students from various colleges, universities and programs. This nursing clinical experience required extensive NCH nursing staff involvement. The clinical setting and hands-on instruction cost NCH $115,252. In addition to nursing students, NCH provided a clinical setting for another 59 students training in health-related programs such as pharmacy, social work, OT/PT, laboratory, EMT/paramedic and other allied-health disciplines. The hospitals costs related to this training was $86,801.Charity and Other Unreimbursed Costs: Charity Care: While reimbursement for healthcare services rendered is critical to the operation and sustainability of the organization, NCH recognizes its obligation to provide care to individuals who cannot afford essential medical services, including emergency care. NCH accepts all patients regardless of their ability to pay. A patient is classified as a charity patient when they meet the established policies of Ballad Health and guidelines outlined by the federal government. However, financial assistance decisions are not solely based on income. Unique financial circumstances are weighed with verified patient assets which can determine financial assistance eligibility. It is not until after verification of income and assets that a decision regarding the amount of financial assistance can be made. In Fiscal Year 2021, NCH incurred a loss of $546,809 attributable to the provision of charity care. This amount does not include the costs associated with bad debt accounts.Medicaid/TennCare: NCH provides care to persons covered by governmental programs, such as Medicaid and TennCare (Tennessee residents). NCH incurred a loss of a little over $1,000,000 providing care to this population of patients during the year. Uninsured Discount: Uninsured patients received an 85% discount. Certain elective procedures are not eligible for the uninsured discount. This uninsured discount is calculated each year in accordance with Tennessee regulations and without regard to a patients income or assets. Although the uninsured discount is not required by the Commonwealth of Virginia, Ballad Health applies the same discount to our Virginia hospitals, including NCH. The approximate cost of this discount in FY21, using a cost to charge ratio, was $598,187 for NCH. Community Donations:For many years, NCH has provided assistance to local non-profit lifesaving organizations such as ambulance services, fire departments and rescue squads. NCH donates free medications and pharmaceutical supplies to these organizations. The cost of donated medications to rescue organizations during FY21 was $5,068. NCH also made cash donations of $16,661 to University of Virginia College at Wise Foundation for their athletic programs. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 5: Awards and Recognitions:Annually, U.S. News & World Report releases a list of hospital rankings to help guide patients to the right hospital when they need excellent care. Hospitals receive various scores. A hospitals score is based on multiple data categories, including patient survival, discharging patients to home, nurse staffing and more. Over 6,000 hospitals were evaluated, and eligible hospitals received one of three ratings (high performing, average, or below average). Hospitals that earned a high performing rating were significantly better than the national average. In their 2021-2022 report, NCH received High Performing 5/5 in 2 adult procedures: 1.Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Dise”

“Change in Tempararily Restricted Assets = -$20105”

“Elimination of intercompany Rec/Pay - NCPS = -$807137”

“Elimination of intercompany Rec/Pay -NCH = -$18369381”

“NCH "Other Acquisitions" = -$164688”

“NCH Transfer to Wellmont Health System = -$17658324”

“NCPS Income - 03/21-06/21 = -$4516”

“Pension Plan Adjustment = $251666”

“The executive compensation committee serves as the compensation oversight committee of Ballad Healths Board of Directors. The compensation plan for Alan Levine, Ballad Healths President and CEO, was reviewed and approved by the executive compensation committee and then by the Ballad Health Board of Directors. An outside and independent compensation consultant was used to determine his compensation and benefits. Studies and surveys were used to ensure his pay is comparable to like positions at similarly situated organizations. Mark Leonard, VP served as Wise Co. CEO until mid-October 2020. Also, in October 2020, Dale Clark, VP began serving as Wise Co. CEO.”