Press release from Health Equity WNC:
The Health Equity Coalition will hold a forum to explore new ways of connecting community to philanthropy. The $1.5 billion trust from the sale of Mission Hospital has created an opportunity to invest in life-changing initiatives for many of the 900,000 citizens in the 18-county Western North Carolina region. Traditional philanthropic models will produce traditional, not transformational, results.
The Cutting Edge Philanthropy Forum will be held May 24 hosted by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in the Reuter Center Manheimer Room at UNC Asheville, a partner in the event. National, regional and local philanthropy leaders will hold a community conversation from 8:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The forum is free and open to the public.
Keynote speakers are Brenda Solorzano, executive director of Headwaters Foundation of Montana (brendas@headwatersmt.org, 406-926-6526), and Kelly Ryan, president and CEO of Incourage community foundation in central Wisconsin (kryan@incouragecf.org, 715-423-3863).Solorzano is an expert on issues related to health policy, the health care safety net and community health issues affecting vulnerable populations. Ryan has been named one of the 50 most influential leaders in the nonprofit sector by the NonProfit Times and a Rural Innovator by the White House for her focus on values-led and user-centered approaches.
“The leaders of the Dogwood Health Trust have an awesome responsibility to guide a massive philanthropic investment in the region,”said Alan McGregor, of the Health Equity Coalition. “Just as important, western North Carolina must embrace this unprecedented opportunity by developing the aspirations, vision, and capacity needed for our people to take advantage of what is before them.”
The 2019 sale of Mission Hospital network to HCA Healthcare created this once in a generation windfall. The nonprofit Dogwood Health Trust will administer the $1.5 billion from the sale.
The Health Equity Coalition envisions a healthy western North Carolina where all people have equitable access to and a voice in their health care as well as resources to address the social determinants of health and live healthy lives, inclusive of all races, genders, locations and socioeconomic status.
The Health Equity Coalition collaborates with WNC partners to ensure equitable health outcomes across all our communities, rural and urban, as it advocates for transformative philanthropic investment.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.