Putting housing first: Champagne bar hosts benefit today to end homelessne­ss

While sipping on a glass of wine or grabbing a late night coffee, residents can help fund an organization working to end homelessness locally and stopping people from spending the night in the harsh winter weather.  “Every time it is cold and I go into my own house, I think, ‘It is not OK that people in our community are sleeping outside tonight,” says Emily Ball, director of community engagement at Homeward Bound of Asheville.

Common ground: Convention­al, alternativ­e medicine meet in the middle

Asheville is the health care hub for Western North Carolina, and Mission Health is a major presence, dominating a swath of town that’s thick with doctor's offices. Since 2009, however, this bastion of mainstream medicine has boasted an Integrative Healthcare Department whose staff includes nurses trained in aromatherapy, massage, guided imagery and biofeedback.

Vital signs: Taking Buncombe County’s pulse

In less than 10 minutes, a doctor or nurse can get a read on a patient’s overall health and well-being just by checking a few key indicators: pulse, blood pressure, temperature and respiration rate. But how do you assess an entire community’s vital signs? And if you don’t, how will you know what the biggest problems are and how best to allocate scarce resources? (cover design by Emily Busey)

The giving tree: Simple gifts can fulfill big needs

For many seniors and adults with disabilities in Buncombe County, visions of sugarplums do not dance in their heads during the holiday season. They’re dreaming of warm clothes, food and the reassurance that they are not forgotten. According to Roxann Sizemore, supervisor of the Buncombe County Adult Protective Services Department, that’s the mission of the Buncombe County Senior Wish Tree project, and it goes beyond wish lists.

Life after cancer: Oncology nurse and cancer survivor to hold cancer survivorsh­ip talk

After being cancer-free for six years, Penny Stollery recently hiked from the edge of Gatlinburg to Mount LeConte with friends to mark the end of five years of hormonal therapy. But as she stood on the mountain, the oncology nurse practitioner says she recognized that life after cancer is its own battle — and one that is seldom discussed. (photo courtesy of Penny Stollery)