Kate Wargo moved to Asheville in fall 2021 with hopes for a fresh start. Teaching elementary school during the COVID-19 pandemic had left her exhausted, anxious and depressed. “It was the first time I felt dehumanized,” she says of the previous two years teaching fourth grade in Pennsylvania.
David S. Leader, a volunteer at Jewish Family Services of Western North Carolina, discusses the organization’s clinical and social support services.
The exact cause of death is still under investigation, according to the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office, although an autopsy conducted Feb. 6 showed the death appeared not to be natural.
Asheville and Buncombe County are among the “epicenters” of hemp nationally, said Rod Kight, an Asheville lawyer who advises cannabis businesses.
It’s not enough to provide activities centered around autism, because having autism in common doesn’t mean people’s interests are similar.
A 12-page working draft report out of Wake Forest University titled “Mission Hospital’s Financial Performance Under HCA” collates information from federal data, HCA’s own projections, and other studies to show how the Asheville hospital has prospered since the $1.5 billion purchase five years ago.
Safety and hospitality ambassadors for a downtown Asheville business improvement district would be perceived as a welcome addition by some — additional “eyes and ears” on the street. But others aren’t sure that such a program is a priority.
The Veterans Healing Farm is seeking to raise $5 million to purchase a new location and expand its offerings year-round.
AdventHealth anticipates opening the new hospital in two to three years, spokesperson Victoria Dunkle says.
“Most deaf kids are born to hearing parents, and there’s usually a lag time of identifying deafness in a baby and often a struggle with accepting that you have a deaf child. There’s a long process in which there can be a lot of language deprivation for children. So for us, that’s a big part of our job, being language role models and teaching,” says Kim Martin, lead interpreter for Buncombe County Schools.
Experts emphasize that making body movement fun can keep kids interested and prevent physical activity from just being about weight loss or punishment.
While HCA Healthcare’s plan has some positive changes, Mission Hospital nurse Kerri Wilson said management isn’t following all of it.
As part of Xpress’ Kids Issue, we speak with a local youth about his time as a volunteer at Mission Hospital.
Adaptive sports for youth are also important for their parents. “We need each other,” says Stacie Hildenbrand of Mills River. “Representation is something we advocate for for our own children. Together, we can problem-solve and create opportunities that don’t exist yet.”
The phone number 855-PEERS-NC is staffed by certified peer support specialists 24/7. Peer support specialists are people in recovery who have a mental health and/or substance use disorder and can provide nonclinical support based on their lived experiences.
ARC works with people who have substance or alcohol use problems and face criminal charges in Henderson County District Court; participants receive court-ordered treatment while being monitored by criminal justice and recovery professionals.
The 40-hour crisis intervention training prepares first responders to interact with someone in crisis. A significant component is making them aware of local resources that exist for people with substance use or behavioral health challenges.
Mission Hospital has enacted drastic operational changes, including rapid turnaround time goals for emergency department patients and their lab work and enhanced communication procedures, all as state investigators have returned to the Asheville facility this week following recent federal findings of serious deficiencies and immediate jeopardy.
The 384-page document details why CMS placed the hospital in immediate jeopardy, the most serious sanction a hospital can face. It spotlights not only patient deaths and long delays in care but also a lack of available rooms, a lack of governing bodies “responsible for the conduct of the hospital,” and multiple leadership failures.
Drug checking is “a harm reduction practice in which people check to see if drugs contain certain substances,” according to the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse. The goal is to give people who use drugs more information about what they’re putting in their bodies, reduce risks and potentially save lives.
Medication-assisted treatment. Training on how to administer Narcan. Education and stigma reduction. These are just a few of the initiatives funded by Buncombe County’s opioid settlement money to address the local impact of the opioid crisis.
