business briefs
• The University of Tennessee Medical Center recently was recognized in the “Best Hospitals” edition of U.S. News & World Report for the eighth consecutive year. The report ranks the medical center as the best regional hospital in East Tennessee, best in the metro Knoxville area and No. 2 in the state based on its patient care performance and other key factors. The center also received national recognition for adult care specialty of nephrology.
• Ken E. Hayes, Wells Fargo Advisors first vice president/investment officer, has been designated a “Premier Advisor” by Wells Fargo Advisors. The designation is held by a select group of financial advisors who have met or exceeded the firm’s standards of three or more of the following: length of service with the firm, completion of educational components and business production and professionalism.
• SunTrust Foundation recently awarded a $275,000 grant to YMCA of East Tennessee to expand YMCA’s youth development programs focusing on financial wellness, academics, leadership and well-being.
• Tennova Healthcare has welcomed Dr. Jason Collins, family medicine physician, to his new office at Tennova Primary Care-Choto in southwest Knox County. Collins specializes in caring for men, women and children ages 2 and older.
• Patriot Investment Management has been named in the 2019 edition of the Financial Times 300 Top Registered Investment Advisors for the third time in five years. The list recognizes top independent RIA firms from across the United States. Knoxville-based Patriot Investment Management is one of only four firms in Tennessee to be named to the 2019 list.
• Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union has been ranked No. 9 in the nation for best-performing credit unions in a 2018 study by S&P Global Marketing Intelligence, an independent research corporation. Several standards were used to determine the ranking of credit unions with more than $500 million in total assets, from measuring member growth to how cost-effectively the credit unions were run.
• Knoxville Museum of Art has elected its new officers and board members: Knoxville attorney Caesar Stair IV, chairman, taking over from former chair Allison Lederer; Julia Bentley, the new chair-elect; new board members Louis Gauci, Mollie Joy and Angela Masini; and returning members Pamela Chips, Beauvais Lyons, Patricia Brake Rutenberg and Taylor Wortham.
• Kip Kirby, Missy Hall and Mary-Ann Linkowski, Realtors at Weichert, Realtors – Advantage Plus, have been named top agents in the office for June. Kirby was named overall Top Agent of the Month while Hall and Linkowski were named Top Selling and Top Listing Agents, respectively.
• Chris Homes, president/CEO of FirstBank in Nashville, recently was installed as chairman-elect of Tennessee Bankers Association during ceremonies at the organization’s recent 129th annual meeting. More than 600 members of the financial service industry and related businesses attended the convention.
• Weichert affiliated offices in the Knoxville area recently have added Katelyn Nicole Patton and Sandra Sugarman to its team at Weichert, Realtors - Advantage Plus, 10160 Parkside Drive.
• The University of Tennessee Medical Center celebrated 20 years the week of Aug. 2 of operating as an independent not-for-profit organization. In 1999, the medical center became its own self-sustaining healthcare system and officially separated from the University of Tennessee through the creation of University Health System Inc., the board-governed entity that oversees the medical center.
