Fifteen thousand patients visit the Minnie Jones Health Center in downtown Asheville each year. Most of them are low-income residents of the area, often under- or uninsured. More than 200 of them are transgender patients seeking care at the center, which is run by Western North Carolina Community Health Services.
Tag: health care
Showing 85-105 of 134 results
The search for sustainable healthcare in WNC
Despite high hopes for Obamacare (aka, the Affordable Health Act), not all residents of Buncombe and surrounding counties have benefited from the national effort to extend insurance to those who can’t afford it. Part of the shortfall is blamed on North Carolina’s decision not to expand Medicaid. Meanwhile, nongovernmental caregiving entities in Western North Carolina, […]
Free and low cost health care as a basic human right
Caregivers and organizations in Western North Carolina — including community health centers, acupuncturists and herbalists — are helping people without insurance receive the care they need. Indeed, many providers say access to health care is a basic human right. People in every corner of the state should be covered and have access to care, says Benjamin Money, CEO and president […]
Health Care Cafe offers conversation over coffee
Interested in having a conversation about what’s going on in health care over a cup of coffee or tea? You can tune into Health Care Café, a radio show hosted by Four Seasons Compassion for Life every Monday evening.
Mission Health takes aim at bias and disparity in health care
How does a culture combat an entity that cannot be seen? Start with awareness of the issue. “As humans, we all have bias,” says Dr. Rebecca Bernstein of Mission Health. “It doesn’t make us bad people, but when that bias affects how we make decisions, it can have adverse effects on our patients.” “We hope to help […]
ACA health insurance still available for some locals
While the sign-up deadline for health care under the Affordable Care Act passed March 31, some can still sign up, according to an attorney with one of the local nonprofits that has assisted WNC residents in doing so. People who dealt with technical difficulties or have a major life change can still get healthcare under the ACA. Also, due to North Carolina’s government refusing to expand Medicaid, many locals will not face a penalty for not having insurance.
Threading the maze: Local navigators help residents decipher health care law
In this set of short pieces, Xpress looks at the efforts of local organizations and “navigators” to help residents get coverage under the new healthcare law, the reactions they’re seeing so far, information on how to connect with these services and on-the-ground perspectives from a couple of volunteer navigators.
Shaping the present: History of African American access to health care provides context for today
Beginning in 1890 and winding toward 1960, Sharon West’s presentation explored medical accessibility and access for African Americans in Buncombe County. However, she reveals that, in many ways, Buncombe still has a ways to go when it comes to diversity in the medical community. (Photo by Caitlin Byrd)
Planned Parenthood of Asheville announces acquisition of permanent medical home
After renting a building on Biltmore Avenue for about 15 years, Planned Parenthood’s Asheville Health Center will begin providing sexual and reproductive health services in a permanent setting by the end of the year. The announcement came at the nonprofit’s fundraiser and 35th anniversary celebration on Thursday night. (Pictured: Bonnie Smith, interim CEO of Planned Parenthood, makes the announcement. Photo by Caitlin Byrd)
Is there a doctor in the hills?
The sometimes challenging road to health care in rural Western North Carolina extends beyond the curves of country back roads. Whether it’s dealing with the current physician shortage that affects all but Madison in the 16-county region or wrestling with social and economic barriers, local providers and patients share their challenges and plans to address rural health-care needs. (Cover by Emily Busey. Photo by Max Cooper.)
A healthy perspective: A local doctor ponders a future of better care
President and CEO of the Mountain Area Health Education Center for a little more than a year, Dr. Jeff Heck says the academic medical center has an eye toward not only training physicians, but thinking about sustainability. And it starts with recruiting and retaining doctors.
State officials to visit Asheville, will discuss Gov. McCrory’s Medicaid proposal
As part of an ongoing effort to speak with North Carolinians about Gov. Pat McCrory’s proposed changes to the way the state’s Medicaid program operates, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Aldona Wos and N.C. Medicaid Director Carol Steckel will give a presentation about the plan in Asheville on Monday, April 22. This presentation is intended for the provider community, and will be held at 11:30 a.m. at MAHEC Education Center at 121 Hendersonville Road.
State tells Western Highlands Network its contract will end in July
On Friday, April 5, the North Carolina Division of Medical Assistance notified the Asheville-based Western Highlands Network that it’s terminating its contract, effective July 31. WHN coordinates mental-health, substance-abuse and developmental-disability services in in Madison, Mitchell, Yancey, Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania, Polk and Rutherford counties.
Patsy Keever will not abandon us
It’s a sobering thought: If I live long enough to need nursing-home care, I will probably need Medicaid. I hope not, of course. I have been fortunate to have worked all my life and to earn enough to save for retirement. I have never needed any public assistance except for a FEMA loan for flood […]
Turn the town teal this Saturday
Asheville participates, for the third year, in a campaign to raise awareness about ovarian cancer symptoms and risks.
Sen. Kay Hagan tours the Minnie Jones Health Center
Beginning in a waiting room full of patients, Sen. Kay Hagan visited the Minnie Jones Health Center for an hour-long tour of the facility. Hagan visited the local community health center in honor of National Health Center Week. (Photos by Caitlin Byrd)
Ron Paulus on health care reform: “This is the beginning of a story, not the end”
Hours after the Supreme Court announced its landmark ruling on health care, Mission Health CEO and President Ron Paulus made his own statement about what the 5-4 ruling means on the local level. His verdict? The ripple effect of health care reform remains to be seen. Above, Paulus reads his statement about the ruling. (Photo by Caitlin Byrd)
New name, same mission
After years of mistaken association with MANNA FoodBank and Mission Health, Mission Manna has changed its name to Consider Haiti. However, the nonprofit’s desire to help the Haitian children remains the same. (photo courtesy of Consider Haiti)
Project Access is a model program
I wish to express my kudos to the wonderful work Project Access is doing to help people gain access to needed medical care [“Wellness,” Jan. 25 Xpress]. I am currently benefiting from the program as I injured my shoulder last summer and it consequently "froze" up to where I became basically disabled and very challenged […]
Local Matters: NC House Select Committee on Certificate of Need and Related Hospital Issues
Xpress News Editor Margaret Williams talks about the complex issues surrounding the recent North Carolina House Select Committee on Certificate of Need and Related Hospital Issues meeting at the WNC Agricultural Center.
What shall we do without us?
A few weeks ago I broke my knee. It was a big dramatic affair with a 911 call, firefighters and an ambulance ride. I rode in the ambulance to Mission ER, with an emergency medical-services worker taking my blood pressure, covering me with a blanket, talking to me reassuringly, and yet with the seriousness of […]