The 34-bed Asheville Specialty included a comprehensive stroke center, dialysis services, physical and speech therapy, and traumatic brain injury rehabilitation, among other services, according to Mission’s website.
From CPP: Why legal challenge to NC medical provider regulation matters
A recent lawsuit brought forth by a New Bern ophthalmologist challenges the constitutionality of the law, bringing the issue to the forefront of statewide debate.
Lead detected in seven schools after Asheville water didn’t undergo mitigation process for several weeks
Chandler and Dr. Jennifer Mullendore, medical director for Buncombe County’s Department of Health & Human Services, repeatedly stressed that students were not exposed to lead in drinking water.
Buncombe air quality post-Helene has not been affected greatly by dust, but smoke risk rises, agency says
“What we’re particularly concerned about is the fine particles from open burning that we expect we’re going to see more of,” AB Air Quality Agency Director Ashley Featherstone said.
Women in Business: Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart
“Owning a business is a spiritual experience that’ll challenge all of your beliefs and sense of self,” says Jesse Rosenblum, owner of Liminal Sōma.
Women in Business: Message of shamelessness, expression and hope
“Before launching a business every entrepreneur should know that your business will have seasons. Seasons of preparation, tending, harvest and fallowness. It’s normal to experience all of them,” says Faith Laux, a somatic sex and relationship coach.
Aftermath of Helene making Western NC survivors sick
All Western North Carolina residents will have to look out for additional public health issues as the region continues to recover from Helene.
Health professionals help residents unpack feelings of dread and uncertainty post-Helene
Local mental health therapists, healers offer solace as residents enter next phase of storm’s lingering aftermath.
With Asheville’s nonpotable water restored, Flush AVL shifts focus to struggling small towns
Elle DeBruhl, co-founder of Flush AVL, discusses the group’s origins, its rapid growth, its new mission and what might be next for the group’s organizers.
N.C. Legislature’s Helene relief bill contains several health-related measures
The North Carolina General Assembly passed over $604 million in Helene disaster relief on Oct. 24, with $71.4 million earmarked for supporting local health departments, mental health services, disaster nutrition assistance and child care, among other health-related measures.
After Helene, disabled folks and seniors still vulnerable and in need of water in WNC
Every day since Helene, volunteers with Asheville’s Flush Brigade gather at the parking lot of the Gold’s Gym on Fairview Road, disperse buckets, and climb into water tank-laden trucks to check in on different apartment complexes in the city.
A ‘second wave’ of medical issues may slam the region in Helene’s wake, disaster response officials caution
Two weeks after the storm, doctors, health professionals and officials in charge of disaster relief say there could be a second wave of medical concerns affecting hospitals and clinics, and it could be here soon.
More WNC schools are taking advantage of free meal programs for students
Hungry kids can’t learn. That’s one thing Heather Smith has learned in nearly a decade as a teacher.
“I truly believe that they have a hard time focusing if they’re worried about when their next meal is coming or if they don’t have energy,” says Smith, an eighth-grade math teacher at Waynesville Middle School.
Asheville playground upgrades address accessibility, inclusivity
Among a handful of city recreation sites updated with 2016 bond money, Murphy-Oakley Park’s playground relaunched in late June with an adaptive design and equipment that’s accessible to residents of all abilities.
Mission CEO Chad Patrick out in ‘restructuring’ effort, replaced by HCA North Carolina president Greg Lowe
The move comes just months after the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services found Mission Hospital to be in immediate jeopardy, the most serious sanction a hospital can receive.
Animal bites should be treated ‘like a car accident,’ says health department
Experts share the procedure for getting post-exposure prophylaxis after an animal bite, indicators that an animal might have rabies and what to know about bats in your house.
From CPP: Nurses strike vote passes at Mission Hospital with 97% in favor
This vote has the potential to give the union much more leverage in its negotiations with HCA, the Tennessee-based for-profit hospital chain that acquired the hospital’s parent company, Mission Health, in 2019.
Human donor milk program expands to Sylva
Pasteurized human donor milk can help bridge the gap until a mother’s milk supply comes in and promote longer breastfeeding.
Life lessons from creatives on navigating disappointments
Asheville-area artists hear “no” on a regular basis, yet develop the grit and determination to keep going.
WNC grapples with Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever
Since January of this year, Buncombe County has received 104 reports of Lyme, says Buncombe County spokesperson Stacey Wood. Of those, 19 have been confirmed cases, five met the definition for suspect or probable cases and 23 are currently under investigation.
Hundreds rally at to support nurses in contract battle
The rally was part of a push from the union to pressure HCA, a for-profit that purchased Mission in 2019, for better working conditions. The event was the latest in a long line of actions by local and state officials against the company.