Ted Clifford

Following the sale of Asheville's Mission Health system to HCA Healthcare in 2019, nurses and doctors left in large numbers, practices closed, regulators sanctioned the hospital multiple times, and the public has clamored for information. But lately, that information has been harder to get.

Chris Fink likes to volunteer. But where some people might build houses or help out in a soup kitchen, once every three months Fink takes a tour of Buncombe County's nursing homes and long-term adult care facilities as a member of the county's Community Advisory Committee. Fink visits with residents, helps them to resolve issues and checks to see if bathrooms are clean, medicine carts are locked, and cleaning supplies are put away. He speaks with managers to understand the issues they're facing and helps them stay in compliance with the law.

A report from the independent monitor tasked with supervising Mission Hospital has found two areas of “potential noncompliance” with the agreement HCA Healthcare signed when buying the hospital in 2019.

Since its sale to the for-profit HCA Healthcare seven years ago, Mission Hospital has been beset by complaints about declining care. Staff have left in waves, medical specialties have vanished and patient deaths have triggered threats from regulators that the hospital could lose crucial Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.

The U.S. House of Representatives' Ethics Committee has recommended the censure of Rep. Chuck Edwards for violating the House Code of Official Conduct by “failing to adhere to the spirit of rules prohibiting sexual harassment of and unwanted advances to House staffers.”

Six months after being threatened with the loss of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements , Mission Hospital told employees that it is officially back in compliance with federal regulations.

The hearing Wednesday at Asheville-Buncombe Technical College was a routine part of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) certificate of need process. It was an opportunity for state regulators to hear public comments and presentations on the competing proposals before them.

At 8:25 a.m. on Sept. 13, 2024, Noe Serrano Hernandez was put under anesthesia for a routine foot surgery at Mission Hospital. Over the next 51 minutes, the 64-year-old's vital signs would steadily weaken while the nurse anesthetist supervising his care did not intervene until he suffered a heart attack, according to a new lawsuit filed in Buncombe County.

In August, UNC Health Pardee celebrated the opening a 23-bed adolescent mental health unit. Dozens of people crowded into the future dayroom; standing against walls painted carefully chosen tones of soothing blue and green and sitting in chairs that are too heavy to lift, or throw. The opening of the facility was a milestone – the culmination of a nearly year and a half long project to address an urgent shortage of mental health resources in Western North Carolina.

In August, UNC Health Pardee celebrated the opening of a 23-bed adolescent mental health unit. Dozens of people crowded into the future dayroom; standing a