Thank you for covering the important HCA-related news covered by Asheville Watchdog reporter Andrew R. Jones. The recent N.C. Department of Health and Human Services’ findings of nine immediate jeopardy findings, including several deaths, highlight the seriousness of issues around patient safety and quality of care, these in the emergency department. It’s imperative that we as a community remain informed.
Xpress’ coverage reaches an important audience. Please continue to post all of the Watchdog HCA reporting. The value of that public service can’t be overestimated.
The issues we’re facing are related to corporate and management leadership decisions in service to profit. The staff at Mission deserves our utmost respect and gratitude, and our applause for their commitment to being the best they can be in providing for our care.
— Bruce Kelly, M.D.
Asheville
yes, I agree. And please use as little of the services there or associated with HCA Mission as possible, so that one day in the not so distant future ( like this year or next year) HCA will no longer be the owner of Mission hospital. This can and will happen.
Thanks to Xpress for the coverage of HCA Mission debacle. The value of accurate information can’t be underestimated. Pass the word, use HCA Mission Hospital as little as possible. HCA/Mission is a dangerous, life threatening situation.
Many corporations and holding companies are faceless entities. Not so with HCA. According to Wikipedia, HCA Healthcare was founded in Nashville, TN, in 1968 by Thomas Frist Sr., Thomas Frist, Jr., and Jack Massey. Does “Frist” sound familiar? It might. Former Tennessee Senator and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, MD, is also a son of Thos. Frist, Sr. Fast forward: CNBC reports that the current Chairman of the Board for HCA Holdings is Thos. Frist, III. HCA Holdings is a publically traded company whose largest shareholder (26.1% of shares) is said to be Hercules Holding II LLC. Who’s that? A private firm that, according to Little Sis, https://littlesis.org/org/202367-Hercules_Holding_II,_LLC, is or was owned by Bain Capital, KKR, William R. Frist of HCA, and Thos. Frist III of Frist Capital. No surprise that Frist Capital’s owner and managing principal is, the website massinvestor tells us, Thos. Frist III.
FWIW
Got a good Frist/Ron Paulus connection? Other selfish Ashevillains/members of the board who screwed over our community?
the Frist family…. a serious MAGA bunch… corruption follows them and HCA wherever they go. A grand jury needs to be convened… indictments of Paulus, Green and HCA will go a long way towards freeing Mission of the HCA yoke.
Asheville Watchdog published an extensive piece centered on Paulus’s lucrative arrangement with HCA https://avlwatchdog.org/mission-accomplished-former-ceo-ron-paulus-and-hca-discussed-takeover-options-before-board-okd-search/
Aside from those business relationships, I don’t know of any direct connection between Paulus and the Frist family.
Voirdire
Each time you comment on HCA, insert Gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein where you say MAGA. The person who could have sued to prevent the sale as Attorney General of NC.
@WNC, I too wondered at the time of sale, Where’s the state? But then again, what authority does North Carolina have to prevent such a sale? Is there an applicable state law or muscular regulatory bureaucracy that could have stepped in? If so, please clarify. Thanks.
There seems to be an obvious conflict of interest with CEO Ron Paulus.
According to the article
Paulus told a local business group in May 2018 that under HCA, Mission would still have “the exact same people and exact same doctors and exact same nurses providing all the care.” What would be different will be the efficiency of back-office functions like billing and purchasing, he said.
The Attorney General acknowledged the deal was inequitable. What would be the outcome of a lawsuit to prevent the sale? We know the outcome of not preventing it.
Did the CEO’s action’s follow Mission’s objectives as a non-profit?
Yes, but is the state of NC empowered to nix the sale of a hospital system based on a claim of conflict of interest? Bribery, yes. Extortion, yes. Egregious conflict of interest with flashing red neon lights and sirens wailing????? What’s the statutory or regulatory basis of such an intervention?
okay, so here’s the deal ( it seems so very obvious but let’s just spell it out) ..Paulus and Green were in collusion with HCA to mislead the Mission Board of Directors in order to defraud the non-profit.
Time for a grand jury ….way past time actually.
-Collusion, a noun that refers to a secret agreement or cooperation for an illegal or deceitful purpose.
-Defraud, a verb that means to take something illegally from someone by deceiving them.
I’d love it, but who’s the witness to corroborate the deception? Someone would have to violate their NDA wouldn’t they? Balls and/or conscience seem in short supply among the “dupes.”
It would be a stretch to say you had to cover a crime because of a NDA disclosure? 12 citizens might view that action differently.