The Tennessee Department of Health last week confirmed the state’s first measles case in 2025 in a Middle Tennessee resident. The likely source of the infection is being investigated.

The individual became infected with measles in early March and is recovering at home. Public health officials are working to identify other locations and persons potentially exposed to the virus.

There is currently an ongoing, national measles outbreak, involving more than 300 cases in 11 states, including two deaths.

Measles typically has a classic red, spotty rash that begins on the face and spreads over the body. Additional symptoms can include fever, headache and generally not feeling well, followed by rash, cough, red eyes or congestion.

Measles is a highly infectious and potentially fatal disease which spreads very easily through the air when an infected person speaks, coughs or sneezes.

TDH encourages consultation with your medical provider about measles prevention. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are highly effective at preventing measles.

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TriStar Skyline earns Patient Safety recognition

TriStar Skyline Medical Center has been recognized with the 2025 Patient Safety Excellence Award from Healthgrades, placing it among the top 10% of hospitals nationwide for patient safety. This distinction reflects TriStar Skyline’s commitment to high-quality, patient-centered care and its dedication to reducing preventable patient safety events.

Healthgrades evaluates hospitals based on objective patient outcomes, including rates of complications and mortality. Hospitals receiving this award demonstrate significantly lower rates of preventable complications compared to peer institutions.

This recognition follows TriStar Skyline’s recent distinction as one of Healthgrades’ 2025 America’s 250 Best Hospitals, ranking in the top 5% of hospitals nationwide for overall clinical excellence. This annual designation is based solely on patient outcomes and is reserved for hospitals that excel across multiple specialties.

Genome database to aid drug discovery

Nashville Biosciences LLC, a leading clinical and genomic data company and wholly owned subsidiary of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and global DNA sequencing giant Illumina Inc. announced that 250,000 whole genomes have been sequenced for the Alliance for Genomic Discovery (AGD) initiative.

Insights from the AGD database are being leveraged to accelerate drug target discovery, therapeutic research and clinical development.

The resulting AGD dataset is being made available to the alliance’s eight biopharma members using Illumina Connected Analytics as a shared research tool and data platform. De-identified DNA samples were provided by NashBio from VUMC’s BioVU biobank and sequenced by deCODE genetics, a subsidiary of Amgen, using Illumina’s complete, end-to-end sequencing workflow including the DRAGEN analysis pipeline and integrated with de-identified longitudinal clinical phenotype data derived from VUMC’s electronic health record data.

Fewer multifamily permits could mean costlier rent

Rents have been on a decline in the top 50 metros for over a year, but low multifamily permitting activity is making way for higher rent prices, according to the Realtor.com February rent report.

In fact, within the top 50 metros only 294,000 multifamily units were permitted in 2024, which is well below the 318,000 units permitted at the peak of the pandemic in 2020.

In hot markets where demand is high and rent is already growing, low levels of multifamily housing permitting will cause further supply constraints and could make rents go up even higher in the future.

For nine of the top 50 metros, multifamily permitting was lower than recent history in 2024. These places also experienced a rise in rent, including New York, New York; Kansas City, Missouri, and Detroit, Michigan.

On the other hand, nine of the top 50 metros saw more multifamily permitting in 2024 than over the previous five years and experienced rent price declines YoY including Birmingham, Alabama where rent declined 5.4% YoY, and multifamily building permits grew by 22.10% from the average of the previous five years. In these metros, multifamily supply growth will put further downward pressure on rent.

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Gresham Smith named to Most Innovative list

Architecture firm Gresham Smith has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2025. This year’s list shines a spotlight on businesses that are shaping industry and culture through their innovations to set new standards and achieve remarkable milestones in all sectors of the economy.

“At Gresham Smith, innovation isn’t just about adopting technology – it’s about redefining how we design for a better future,” said Mike Sewell, director of innovation at Gresham Smith. “By integrating artificial intelligence, advanced computational methods and interactive design tools, we are creating new opportunities for clients to engage meaningfully in the design process. Our forward-thinking approach empowers both our employees and clients to push beyond conventional solutions, driving transformative outcomes that align bold ideas with community needs.”

Over the past 18 months, Gresham Smith has redefined the firm’s design process through AI-driven tools, computational design and innovative client engagement platforms. The firm’s generative and interpretive AI systems empower employees with advanced models tailored to the company’s needs, streamlining tasks like design ideation, data analysis and project planning.

AI-powered assistants also automate time-intensive processes such as proposal development and marketing material creation, ensuring more efficient workflows. The integration of AI has also enhanced computational design, allowing teams to make data-driven decisions that improve efficiency, sustainability and resilience – especially in large-scale projects like battery plants for electric vehicle manufacturers and urban planning initiatives that optimize transportation, energy use and accessibility.

The World’s Most Innovative Companies stands as Fast Company’s hallmark franchise and one of its most anticipated editorial efforts of the year. To determine honorees, Fast Company’s editors and writers review companies driving progress around the world and across industries, evaluating thousands of submissions through a competitive application process.

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Nissan, SK On team on EV battery supply

SK On and Nissan have announced a battery supply agreement that will support Nissan’s electric vehicle (EV) production in North America.

Under the agreement, SK On, a leading global battery manufacturer, will supply nearly 100GWh of high-performance, high-nickel batteries to Nissan from 2028 to 2033. These U.S.-manufactured batteries will power Nissan’s next-generation EVs to be produced at its Canton, Mississippi assembly plant. This agreement reinforces both companies’ commitment to electrification and sustainable mobility.

This production will support 1,700 U.S. jobs at SK On, and will involve a total investment of $661 million, including equipment purchases. This is in addition to Nissan’s $500 million in investments for EV production at the Canton Assembly Plant.

The partnership marks SK On’s first supply agreement with a Japanese automaker, further expanding its global customer base. SK On, a subsidiary of South Korea’s SK Group, currently operates two battery plants in the U.S. and is building four additional plants with partners. Once fully operational, SK On’s annual U.S. production capacity is expected to exceed 180GWh.

64 AMSURG centers make U.S. News ‘best of’

AMSURG, a leader in ambulatory surgery center services, announces 64 of its surgery centers have been recognized by the U.S. News & World Report among the 2025 Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers nationwide.

This marks a 12% increase in the number of AMSURG centers recognized in the annual rankings compared to 2024, with 35 centers earning a spot on the 2025 U.S. News list for the second consecutive year.

U.S. News and CareJourney rated more than 4,000 surgery centers across the country on several criteria, including how successfully they avoided complications, ER visits, unplanned hospitalizations and other undesirable outcomes; patient outcomes; risk-adjustment and more. Ambulatory Surgery Centers were evaluated in four separate specialty areas: Gastroenterology, Orthopedics, Ophthalmology and Urology. AMSURG centers were recognized in all four specialty areas.

Information: https://amsurg.com/blog/2025/03/18/us-news-world-report-names-64-amsurg-ascs-among-best-in-nation/.

Forcura, Medalogix pair on post-acute care tech

Forcura, the intelligent workflow management company, and Medalogix, a clinical decision support company, announced that they have combined. Together, the companies will create a leading post-acute care technology platform focused on the advancement of intelligent patient care within home-based care providers and ultimately across the entire health care continuum.

Berkshire Partners will be the majority owner of the combined organization, and The Vistria Group will be the largest minority shareholder in the transaction.

The strategic combination of Forcura and Medalogix will allow providers to leverage one platform to streamline patient care transitions, simplify collaboration with the broader care team, optimize utilization and resource allocation and improve end-of-life care management.

The new company’s products will make patient care journeys more transparent for referral sources and payers, leverage AI to calibrate patient care delivery, improve outcomes, and drive better business performance for post-acute care providers and their cross-continuum partners.

Post-acute care is a critical part of the U.S. health care landscape but is often siloed, resulting in fragmented care delivery for patients and a challenging environment for providers.

The combined platform will seek to transform how patients experience post-acute care, better connect these providers into the broader health care ecosystem, and enable more equitable reimbursements that sustain and elevate the post-acute care sector as health care continues to shift further toward value-based care.