Gov. Lee announces new center for rural health research
Published 6:00 am Thursday, July 18, 2019
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Governor Bill Lee has a jovial exchange with State Senator Rusty Crowe prior to making a big annoucement before a packed room of local and state representatives along with the executive boards of Ballad Health and ETSU.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Ballad Health Executive Chairman, President, and CEO Alan Levine followed Gov. Lee's announcement by saying that Ballad Health will make one of it's largest gift donations to ETSU for the National Rural Health Research Center which will be a matching gift of $15 million dollars over 10 years.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Dr. Randy Wykoff was introduced by ETSU President Brian Noland to be the founding director for the Center for Rural Health Research.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee addresses a large crowd at ETSU College of Medicine on Tuesday to announce that the school would be home to the Center for Rural Health Research.
BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR STAFF
ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
JOHNSON CITY— it was a busy day for Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Tuesday making many stops throughout Northeast Tennessee with one of those stops being at East Tennessee State University’s College of Medicine for a big announcement.
One of the governor’s main agenda items, while he was running for office, was to make sure Tennessean’s had the best opportunity afforded when it came to their health.
Tuesday marked a significant milestone toward that goal with the announcement of the National Center for Rural Health Research on the ETSU campus which will not only benefit this area but is already drawing attention national according to the governor.
“I believe the Center for Rural Health Research at ETSU is going to be a major contributor to solving problems that have been developing in rural America for decades,” Gov. Lee said before a large gathering that included the Executive Board members of the ETSU along with Ballad Health.
“Tennessee will be a leader on this issue, and that continues today, with this partnership between the State of Tennessee, ETSU, and Ballad Health.”
Lee went on to say,” In order for Tennessee to truly lead the nation, we must ensure we help all Tennesseans succeed, particularly in our rural areas. One way to help our rural areas is to improve the health outcomes in these areas.
“Ballad Health and ETSU are leading in this effort, and today’s announcement reflects the State’s commitment to work with them to find solutions.”
Gov. Lee said that he approached the legislature and they approved funding for the center in the amount of $1.5 million for this year and $750,000 each subsequent year.
“The governor cannot solve these problems and I know that now more than ever,” Gov. Lee said. “There’s not enough money, and there are not enough resources in government to resolve these challenges.
“It takes a government of the people to address the challenges of our day.”
Ballad Health Executive Chairman, President and CEO Alan Levine also announced that Ballad Health would be making one of the most significant single contributions in the history of ETSU as over the next ten years Ballad Health will be making a $15 million match to what the State of Tennessee put on the table.
“What you are going to see from the creation of this Center for Rural Health Research is the testing of new ideas and new innovations that are community-based and we think that the whole world will learn from what we are doing here,” said Levine.
ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland announced that Dr. Randy Wykoff would be the founding director of the center while continuing as the dean of the College of Public Health.
