Employers, especially restaurants and other hospitality businesses, still struggle to find employees in a rebounding economy.
From CPP: HCA takeover reframing primary care in WNC, could threaten regional hospitals
HCA Healthcare’s acquisition of Asheville-based Mission Health has driven a shakeup among physicians going to work elsewhere.
From CPP: Communities struggle with meth outside spotlight of opioid crisis
Increase in methamphetamine use in Western North Carolina affects the region’s “misery index,” even if the death rate is lower than that of opioids.
Filling the gaps
It’s a rainy Thursday in West Asheville when the word “overdose” crackles over the radio dispatch. Jamie Judd, emergency medical services division manager for Buncombe County Emergency Services, immediately turns on his siren and increases speed. The late afternoon traffic on Patton Avenue is clogged; vehicles aren’t pulling to the side to let this emergency […]
Green in brief: New website shares WNC landslide risks
According to the N.C. Climate Science Report prepared by N.C. State University’s Asheville-based N.C. Institute for Climate Studies and other experts, the area will likely experience more landslides in the coming years due to climate change.
Q&A with Justin McVey, regional wildlife biologist with NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Justin McVey of Horse Shoe looks at the world differently than do most people. A bird feeder and a trash can are a potential buffet for urban black bears scavenging residential properties in search of food. A dead deer on the side of the road might be roadkill — or an indication that disease is […]
Wellness roundup: Local domestic, sexual violence nonprofits lose funding; Dogwood invests $25M into Pisgah Fund
State funding for local domestic, sexual violence nonprofits to end Sept. 30 The N.C. Governor’s Crime Commission informed four WNC nonprofits on June 16 of the discontinuance of nearly $2.3 million in grant funding previously available through the Victims of Crime Act and the Violence Against Women Act. Existing VOCA and VAWA grants are scheduled […]
Healthy pride
Western North Carolina is a health-conscious place, but one that hasn’t always been welcoming for the LGBTQ community. And without health and wellness opportunities that provide care, while also affirming sexuality and gender identity, some LGBTQ folks may not share essential information with their providers or avoid health care settings entirely. Numerous local organizations and […]
Q&A with Mac Franklin, director of horticulture at the NC Arboretum
Since he was a teenager in Charlotte, Mac Franklin knew what his life’s work would be. He began landscaping during high school and continued the career while studying art, industrial art and design at Appalachian State University. After college, Franklin moved west to work for a landscape architect in San Francisco and a nursery in […]
From CPP: Will telehealth continue filling gaps in WNC?
Patients and providers pivoted to online appointments during pandemic lockdowns. Some in Western North Carolina want the option to extend permanently.
Buncombe among state’s leading counties in elder abuse
As of 2019, the latest year for which data is available, Buncombe County had the largest population of adults ages 60 and older in the state with 71,578 people, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. And in 2000, the county received 1,190 reports allegations of abuse of older residents.
Electric bikes poised for larger role in WNC transportation
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, just 0.2% of workers in the four-county Asheville metro area commute by bike, less than half the national average. But the owners of Asheville’s first electric bike dealership, as well as and regional transportation planners, think e-bikes are likely to change that number.
Green in brief: Solarize reaches lowest pricing for community solar
The Solarize rate of $2.45 per watt of electricity generation is roughly 9% cheaper than the statewide average of $2.67 per watt listed by EnergySage, an industry website. The program, spearheaded by the nonprofit Blue Horizons Project, is able to offer the discount through bulk purchasing of solar equipment for Buncombe County residents.
Low-barrier shelter may fill temporary housing gaps
Newly formed Asheville nonprofit Accessing Needed Crisis and Critical Help Outreach and Resources is proposing a low-barrier, high-access shelter that would forego many of the usual rules for tenants. Start-up costs could reach $6.5 million, with annual operating costs of $3 million, and would initially be funded through Asheville’s approximately $26.1 million in federal coronavirus relief.
WNC health care providers work to cut opioid prescriptions
Drug abuse changed during the 13 years that Adam McIssac has been working as a drug and alcohol counselor in Asheville. At the beginning, McIssac mostly saw clients who were addicted to methamphetamine. But over time “pills,” including opioids like oxycodone (OxyContin) and hydrocodone (Vicodin), became the main drugs that his clients abused. Opioid abuse […]
Buncombe budget hikes taxes, funds rebate program
Buncombe County’s fiscal year 2021-22 budget — passed unanimously by the Board of Commissioners on June 15 — includes an effective property tax increase of 2 cents per $100 of valuation. It also includes $300,000 toward property tax relief grants.
From NC Health News: Tackling NC’s rural provider shortage, one residency slot at a time
As Bryan Hodge, director of rural initiatives at the Asheville-based Mountain Area Health Education Center sees it, rural communities often lack the staff and financial resources to establish and sustain residency programs.
Wellness roundup: Vaya to consolidate with Cardinal; MAHEC receives doula grant
Asheville-based Vaya Health and Charlotte-based Cardinal Innovations, two of North Carolina’s largest managed care organizations, announced on June 1 that they will consolidate ahead of the state’s transformation to Medicaid managed care. Vaya will assume responsibility for coordinating services for Cardinal Innovations members once the organizations are consolidated. Vaya Health currently manages services for individuals […]
Cigar wrapper tobacco could revive disappearing tradition
The Asheville-based Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture project has found that the number of Western North Carolina tobacco farms declined by 97% between 1997 and 2012, largely due to the federal tobacco buyout. But Matthew Vann, extension specialist and assistant professor at N.C. State University, believes a different variety could make the crop more economically viable for local growers.
Shoji employees push back on vaccination policy
The policy required staff members to be fully vaccinated by June 1. Some former employees claim that it violates their civil liberties, while Shoji co-owner Roberta Jordan says safety of both customers and staff is her top priority.
Local projects target carbon through agriculture
“What is emerging is the idea that we’re now able to quantify what’s happening,” says Jennifer Harrison, agriculture and land resource director for Buncombe County, about the ability of farmers to combat climate change through practices like cover cropping and rotational grazing.