Following the announcement of Ballad Health, representatives with the new system reaffirmed the fact that Sycamore Shoals Hospital’s mission in Carter County will continue on course.

Officials from Ballad Health — comprised of former Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System officials — joined together Friday inside MeadowView Convention Center to usher in a new era for healthcare with the formal announcement of a merger of the two systems.

As hospitals across the region prepare for the new era of Ballad Health, Sycamore Shoals Hospital is expected to continue its role of being a key cog in the region with Elizabethton native Dwayne Taylor, Ballad Health’s southeast market president, leading the charge.

“Dwayne Taylor does a great job and is going to continue in his role,” said Alan Levine, Ballad CEO. “I think Sycamore Shoals is a great hospital. I’m really proud of the job they do there. The CVA doctors can practice on site now if they want to. I think there’s a lot of great opportunity there.”

Over the course of the four years since initial merger talks occurred, Sycamore Shoals has continued its goal of servicing the community, according to Taylor.

And with the merger, the president added residents shouldn’t see services diminish.

“As far as today’s decision about the merger, there are currently no plans to remove or add anything at the hospital,” Taylor said. “We are able to stay focused on our goal of working with the community in a variety of ways. With the merger, it is exciting because it adds stability to our health system as a whole.”

Moving forward, Taylor added the goal is to invest more work with the community on population health and prevention, including health screenings. Another goal of the hospital is to work more with education and providing healthier lifestyles for the public and help tackle issues, including chronic disease.

“There’s a very bright future at the hospital,” Taylor said. “We’re excited about what’s ahead.”

Partnerships in the community aren’t expected to falter, either, according to Levine. Locally, Mountain States was busy working with different postsecondary schools, including Milligan College.

“My daughter is in the PA program at Milligan and I couldn’t be prouder of her. She’s coming home appropriately stressed out, which means the program’s doing what its supposed to do,” Levine said with a laugh. “But I think we’ll definitely continue to partner with academic institutions, like Milligan, because we need them to be successful. Frankly, that’s where we get a lot of our talent from.”