Letter: Local government should have say about new hospital

Posted on by Letters
Graphic by Lori Deaton

[Regarding “Healthy Competition: AdventHealth, HCA and Novant Health to Apply for Hospital Beds,” June 8, and “Buncombe School Staff Urge Commissioners to Increase Pay,” June 15, Xpress:] I totally agree that Council members and local government should have a major influence regarding another hospital facility in this area.

It is no secret that Mission, since taking over the nonprofit Mission, has not fulfilled its responsibility to the community in terms of staffing and patient care.

I had knee replacement surgery at Advent, and I was treated very well with nurses and doctors around me all the time. And that was my decision to go to Advent rather than Mission. Great facility; great and caring nurses and their assistants.

— Karen Johnson
Asheville

Editor’s note: Xpress contacted HCA’s Mission Health regarding the writer’s points about its facility and received a response from Mission Health spokesperson Nancy Lindell, which said in part: “Mission Hospital is very proud of its spring Leapfrog Grade  ‘A,’ the highest level possible for our commitment to quality and safety from this widely respected agency, as well as several other awards recognizing the patient care delivered. While facing a national health care worker shortage through a pandemic, Mission Hospital continues to heavily recruit and offer robust sign-on bonuses. Like every hospital in the country, we are having to respond to the shortage of trained health care providers with innovative solutions, including the recent announcement of funding additional faculty members at three local colleges … for their nursing education programs and the recent announcement of an Asheville location of the Galen College of Nursing.”

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5 thoughts on “Letter: Local government should have say about new hospital”

  1. Curious

    Could anyone tell me the names of the Mission Health System Board of Trustees who approved the sale to HCA?

    • SpareChange

      I believe the Mission Board at the time of the sale had 18 members, plus a group of advisors. I could not find a list of names though. The Chairman of the Board was John R. Ball, and it was reported that the Board voted unanimously to approve the deal.
      According to the reporting by the Asheville Watchdog though (all available on their website), the real promoters of the deal were Ronald A. Paulus (then, Mission CEO) and his advisor Philip D. Green, both of whom had conflicts of interest in favoring the HCA deal which they did not reveal.

      • Curious

        It seems to me the community needs to know the names of the full board who voted for this sale. Surprising that the enterprising reporters at Asheville Watchdog could not find the names. Those names should have been a matter of public record. They should be held accountable.

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