ModWash names Thomson as CEO
ModWash, the new Chattanooga-based express car wash operator, on Monday named John (J.T.) Thomson as chief executive officer.
Thomson comes from GO Car Wash and replaces company interim CEO Hans Weger. Thomson has a wealth of car wash business experience as the company sets out to have 16 car washes operating by the end of 2020, 30 by the end of 2021, and 100 by the end of 2023, according to ModWash.
“I look forward to helping make the ModWash vision a reality, creating positive and lasting ripple effects in the local communities we serve,” said Thomson.
ModWash is backed by Hutton, the Chattanooga-based commercial real estate, development, and investment company that has completed more than 1,300 projects across 32 states over the past 22 years.
“Hutton and the ModWash team are thrilled to have J.T. on board. We’re confident that he’ll bring the expertise, strategy, creativity, and leadership that we value at ModWash,” said Hutton CEO Karen Hutton.
Haslams give $5 million to Children’s Hospital
Pilot Company and the Haslam family have donated $5 million to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital to renovate the Emergency Department at the hospital’s main campus on Clinch Avenue in downtown Knoxville.
The facility will be named Pilot Emergency Care Center. The donation represents gifts from Pilot Company; Natalie and Jim Haslam; Dee and Jimmy Haslam; Crissy and Bill Haslam; and Ann and Steve Bailey.
In a statement, the Haslam family called the new facility “a beacon of hope in our community” and said it “wil lenhance the offerings and efficiency of the world-class children’s hospital in the heart of Knoxville.”
More than 60,000 injured and sick children come through the Children’s Hospital Emergency Department (ED) every year. The new ED will feature a dedicated behavioral health care section, providing safe spaces for patients receiving treatment or awaiting inpatient placement. Sensory-sensitive rooms also will be available.
CVS adds 2,000 COVID test sites
CVS Health plans to double its number of COVID-19 drive-thru test sites by adding more than 2,000 sites across the country. The new locations include 11 sites opened in Tennessee on Friday, bringing the total number of CVS Health COVID-19 drive-thru test sites in Tennessee to 43.
CVS has already opened three drive-through testing sites in Hamilton County at stores CVS Pharmacy stores at 5501 Brainerd Road, 4700 Highway 58, and 5120 Highway 153.
CVS Health currently manages the largest number of independently run COVID-19 test sites in the country, and with these new locations the company expects to have more than 4,000 operating by mid-October.
“We recognize the critical role testing plays in helping to manage the spread of the virus and are incredibly proud of how our teams have responded to this need while continuing to take care of our customers, clients and patients,” said Jon Roberts, Chief Operating Officer, CVS Health and acting President, CVS Pharmacy.
Self-swab tests are no cost to patients and available to individuals meeting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria. Currently, most test results from specimens collected at CVS test sites across the country will be available within 2 – 3 days.
Patients must register in advance at CVS.com to schedule an appointment. Self-swab tests are no cost to patients and available to individuals meeting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria.
Georgia fabricator closes, lays off 128
A steel fabricator is closing in southwest Georgia, laying off 128 employees.
Alpharetta-based Cives Corp. is closing its Thomasville location, leaving it with seven nationwide.
Cives President Greg Orff told the Thomasville Times-Enterprise that the economic downturn sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic “created an unanticipated and unsustainable situation in what was already a difficult geographic market.”
Most employees have already been laid off and the remainder are winding down operations, Orff said. The plant opened 39 years ago, preparing steel for building projects.
Cives was Georgia’s 2016 small manufacturer of the year.