A physician for over 29 years, Dr. Herbert Ladley, serves as the chief medical officer for Ballad Health NW Market in Virginia. Previously, Dr. Herbert Ladley served as a cardiologist and senior physician at Wellmont/Ballad CVA Heart Institute in Tennessee, a healthcare provider dedicated to providing Appalachian residents with cardiovascular care.

In June 2023, the Wellmont/Ballad CVA Heart Institute held a trauma training seminar to prepare first responders for helping rural community residents. Held at Spearhead Trails in Dickinson County, Virginia, the seminar involved automated external fibrillatory and first aid/CPR training. In addition, the Institute donated tourniquets and trauma response kits to local response agencies and staff members at Spearhead Trails, an estate with 600 miles of hiking, biking, and offroad recreational trails.

The training showed responders how to assess situations and administer appropriate care. First responders learned how to prepare patients for helicopter transport. It also covered the response protocols through tabletop drills and other emergency scenarios.

Shannon Showalter, chief executive officer of Wise, Lee, and Dickinson County Ballad Health Operations, stated these first responders work all over the community. When they leave the training, they are also prepared to help people in a broader area.