Blood donors urged to donate

Press release from the Blood Connection: Unusually cold temperatures with widespread illness are affecting donor turn out and blood donations. Combined with historic snowfall along the coast, The Blood Connection is urging donors to give blood as soon as possible to ensure hospital needs are uninterrupted. This includes neighboring communities that aren’t able to collect […]

Mission Health Named one of nation’s Best and Brightest in Wellness for 2017 

Press release from Mission Health: Mission Health has been named a Best and Brightest in Wellness® company for the third consecutive year by the National Association for Business Resources (NABR;nationalbiz/).  This award program highlights those organizations nationwide that promote a culture of wellness, and that plan, implement and evaluate their employee wellness efforts.  It celebrates […]

Park Ridge Health welcomes Dr. Pierre DeMatos to surgery specialist practice

Press release from Park Ridge Health:   Park Ridge Health is excited to welcome board-certified Surgeon, Pierre DeMatos, MD, FACS to Park Ridge Health Surgery Specialists. Dr. DeMatos has been caring for people across Western North Carolina since 2001. He has extensive training in a variety of general surgery techniques and care. Dr. DeMatos earned […]

Mission Health COO and Mission Hospital President Jill Hoggard Green named a top health care leader

Press release from Mission Health:   Jill Hoggard Green, PhD, RN, Chief Operating Officer of Mission Health and President of Mission Hospital, earned a place on the 2017 Becker’s Healthcare list of the country’s 130 Women Hospital and Health System Leaders to Know.  Becker’s Healthcare, a prominent provider of industry and legal news for healthcare […]

Pardee UNC Health Care hospitalist Dr. Lorraine Neilson receives Wingate University Preceptor of the Year award    

Press release from Pardee UNC Health Care: Pardee UNC Health Care hospitalist Lorraine Neilson, D.O., has been selected as the winner of Wingate University’s inaugural Hendersonville Physician Assistant Studies Preceptor of the Year award. Third-year physician assistant students nominate a medical provider who trains them on clinical rotations for this award, then the faculty chooses the […]

  Pertussis outbreak situation report

Press release from Henderson County Health Department: I.            Status A.              Number of Cases: 51 – Cases are throughout the community, not only in schools. B.               Numerous individuals in schools and the community have been identified as having close contact with someone who has pertussis. II.          What is Pertussis? A.               Pertussis (whooping cough) is a serious […]

Park Ridge Health Diagnostic Imaging earns accreditation for new CT scanner

Press release from Park Ridge Health:   Park Ridge Health is excited to announce its Diagnostic Imaging Center, located at the Main Campus Hospital, has earned the American College of Radiology Accreditation for a new 128-slice CT Scanner.  Park Ridge Health Diagnostic Imaging met the criteria required for this three-year accreditation. This center brings convenient […]

Pardee UNC Health Care nurse Debbie Austin named perianesthesia nurse of the year

Press release: from Pardee UNC Health Care: Pardee UNC Health Care nurse Debbie Austin, RN, CCRN, CPAN, has been named perianesthesia Nurse of the Year by the North Carolina Association of PeriAnesthesia Nurses (NCAPAN). This award recognizes a nurse who demonstrates excellence in the practice, management and teaching of PeriAnesthesia nursing, and promotes high standards […]

Asheville Yoga Center conducts fundraiser for homeless high school students

Press release from Asheville Yoga Center:   The solution to poverty begins with providing quality education to all children, no matter what their socioeconomic situation. To support this effort, Asheville Yoga Center is collecting donations for Asheville City Schools to help foster the successful education of homeless and underprivileged students in our community. Donation boxes […]

North Carolina Institute of Medicine releases new data tool: interactive 100-county health map

  Press release from North Carolina Institute of Medicine:   The North Carolina Institute of Medicine (NCIOM) released an interactive county health map today, complete with comprehensive county health profiles for each of the state’s 100 counties. The county profiles (found at nciom.org/map)aggregate state, regional and county-level data on more than 50 topics, including demographic information, measures of access to care and community well-being. The data will be updated regularly, serving as a source of information about current health issues in our state—from rates of insurance coverage to opioid poisoning deaths. In this way, the county health profiles can assist state and local policymakers in creating effective policies toimprove the health of the state and provide data for community organizations, journalists and researchers who are working to understand and improve the health of N.C. communities. By sharing principal indicators used for community health assessments and other community-based initiatives in one easy-to-use platform, the NCIOM hopes the interactive county health map will be a useful source of health-related data for the general public as well. “Understanding determinants and indicators of health in the communities where we live and work are critical steps to developing strategies to improve health. This tool can help legislators and county commissioners better understand the health issues of the people they serve andplay a powerful role in developing strategies to improve health,” says Dr. Adam Zolotor, President and CEO of the NCIOM. The North Carolina Institute of Medicine (NCIOM) is an independent, quasi-state agency that was chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1983 to provide balanced, nonpartisan information on issues of relevance to the health of North Carolina’s population. The NCIOMconvenes task forces of knowledgeable and interested individuals to study complex health issues facing the state in order to develop workable solutions to address these issues to improve health, health care access, and quality of health care in North Carolina. Visit nciom for more […]

Pardee UNC Health Care welcomes general and bariatric surgeon 

Press release from Parde UNC Health Care:  Pardee UNC Health Care announced today that Chris Edwards, M.D., FACS, a board-certified general surgeon, has joined Pardee Surgical Associates and will serve as the medical director of Pardee Bariatrics and Weight Loss. Dr. Edwards specializes in minimally invasive surgery, including single-site bariatric, reflux and hernia surgery. He […]

Park Ridge Health implements visitor restrictions due to pertussis (whooping cough)

Press release from Park Ridge Health:   Due to a sharp increase in the number of confirmed cases of pertussis (whooping cough) in Henderson County and other Western North Carolina communities, Park Ridge Health has implemented visitor restrictions. In order to protect patients, visitors, providers and staff, the following restrictions are in place at Park […]

MAHEC offers innovative online training for rural primary care providers and school nurses

Press release from MAHEC:   On December 6, school nurses across Western North Carolina will have the opportunity to train with the region’s top healthcare experts without ever having to leave their office thanks to a new medical education program being offered by the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC). The Project ECHO® for School […]

Park Ridge Health Golf Classic raises funds for behavioral health

Press release from Park Ridge Health:   The Park Ridge Health Foundation hosted the 18th Annual Partners in Health Golf Classic on Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at Walnut Cove with 112 golfers. The tournament raised $66,725. The proceeds of this year’s Golf Classic will help fund a transformation to Park Ridge Health Behavioral Health services, […]

Local Asheville businesses support LGBTQ rights with Shop for Equality Day

Press release from the Campaign for Southern Equality: Twenty-six locally-owned businesses in the Asheville area are participating in Shop for Equality on November 28th, a day of giving to benefit the Campaign for Southern Equality’s work for LGBTQ rights. Businesses are donating 5 percent of their sales on the 28th to the non-profit organization. Casey […]

Park Ridge Health Behavioral Health welcomes new nurse practitioner

Press release from Park Ridge Health:    Park Ridge Health continues its commitment to meeting the growing need for behavioral health care as it welcomes Christi Oates, NP to Park Ridge Health Psychiatry. Oates earned her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Florida State University and her Master’s degree in Nursing from the University of […]

Alzheimer’s Association launches Direct Connect Referral Program to WNC health care professionals

Press release from the Alzheimer’s Association, Western Carolina Chapter: Health care providers can now get resources and support for their Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers through the Direct Connect Referral Program. This free service is designed to work together with physicians and other healthcare professionals to ensure that individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or related […]

Haywood Regional Medical Center to host  free tired leg/varicose vein educational program Nov. 30

Press release from Haywood Regional Medical Center: Haywood Regional Medical Center is holding a free tired leg/ varicose vein educational program on Thursday, Nov 30, at 5 p.m. at the Vein Center at Haywood Regional Medical Center on the 2nd floor (enter behind the hospital) led by Dr. Al Mina, MD, FACS and Dr. Joshua […]