Instrumental in Helene aftermath, Mission Health ‘back to their old ways’
by Jane Winik Sartwell, Carolina Public Press January 30, 2025
Asheville’s Mission Health has been trying to help the city recover in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene. But medical staff and state officials have not softened their stance toward the beleaguered hospital.
New North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, for one, is not backing down from his office’s lawsuit against the medical provider.
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2023 by predecessor Josh Stein, who is now the governor, accuses parent company HCA Healthcare of reneging on a promise to maintain oncology and emergency services. Stein also claims that the hospital is guilty of understaffing, long wait times and bed shortages.
“I know HCA was hopeful that a new attorney general would drop our office’s lawsuit,” Jackson told Carolina Public Press. “I am the attorney general, and that’s not going to happen.
“HCA broke the promises it made to provide emergency and cancer-care services to the people of Western North Carolina. We’ll keep fighting for this case as long as it takes to restore the health care HCA promised to provide and Western North Carolinians deserve.”
Mission Health’s Helene help
Meanwhile, Mission Health is still trying to recover after Helene left the facility without water for more than two months. Staff, many of whom suffered losses from the storm themselves, worked for days at a time to deal with an influx of storm-related injuries and illnesses.
Pop-up stores were created so they could grab essential supplies.
Stations were set up where they could shower and do laundry.
Gas tanks were filled for free.
By many accounts, Mission Health cared for their employees in the immediate aftermath of the storm.
But that was then.
Now, some hospital staff feel that HCA Healthcare, and Mission Health by extension, has returned to its “old ways.”
“We are right back to cutting corners and making money off of understaffing,” said Kerri Wilson, a Mission Health nurse. “I would say the safety and staffing issues within the hospital are pretty reflective of the way they were in late 2023 when we were placed in ‘immediate jeopardy.’ If surveyors came by over this past weekend, I feel we could go back into ‘immediate jeopardy’ very easily.”
Double ‘jeopardy’
“Immediate Jeopardy” is the most serious citation that the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare can deliver to a hospital. And, like Wilson referenced, that’s what happened in December 2023 when the organization notified HCA Healthcare that Mission Health had been cited for nine instances of patient harm or avoidable deaths in 2022 and 2023.
“The ER is almost full every day, the ICU has been full, so we’ve had patients waiting for extended periods of time,” Wilson explained. “There were reports of nurses having to take care of up to 12 patients each.”
The most common recommendation for nurse-to-patient ratios is one nurse for every four patients.
“There were a few good things that happened after the hurricane,” Wilson continued. “We were able to get gas tanks and things like that during those first, really tough weeks of healing. But as soon as the cameras and the media and FEMA started to leave the area, we saw that a lot of those good things stopped. HCA was putting on a show. It was a lot of PR stunts for them, and that was really disappointing because I gave them the benefit of the doubt.
“They are back to their old ways, and our patients are suffering because of it.”
View from the top
But HCA Healthcare’s top leader holds a different view.
CEO Greg Lowe argues that HCA Healthcare’s status as the largest hospital corporation in the country is what allowed them to serve patients through Helene.
“Because of the support from HCA Healthcare, Mission Hospital and our five acute-care community hospitals were able to remain open to care for our neighbors throughout the storm and its devastating aftermath,” Lowe said in a statement. “Thinking about how we have been able to consistently serve our communities … makes me incredibly grateful to be part of this team. Without HCA Healthcare’s scale and ability to deliver under immense pressure, Mission Health facilities would have been otherwise forced to close.”
Even the hospital’s harshest critics partially agree with that assessment. Julie Mayfield, a Democratic state senator who represents Buncombe County, is one of them. Mayfield heads a coalition of physicians, nurses, elected officials, business leaders, clergy and advocates whose mission is to replace HCA Healthcare as owner of Mission Health with a nonprofit hospital system.
“They really took care of their employees and patients in a way that was kind of surprising to everyone,” Mayfield told CPP. “They would never have been able to do everything they did, as quickly, if they weren’t a major corporation. What the storm showed us, very clearly, is that they have the resources and can make the investments in their patients and employees if it is in their interest.
“But we’re a little bit past that now, and we’re starting to hear some problematic and troubling things from folks on the inside again. They didn’t just wake up and become the company we want them to be.”
Mission Health monopoly
Not only did Stein sue Mission Health for cutting services in Asheville, he’s also been outspoken about what he sees as a health care monopoly in the region.
When a need was found for a hospital in the Buncombe County town of Weaverville, Stein urged North Carolina’s Department of Health Human Services to deny Mission Health’s application.
“Currently, Mission has almost no competition for acute care in Buncombe County. The lack of competition is the result of Mission’s unique history,” he wrote.
The department ultimately awarded the right to build a facility to AdventHealth, a Florida company that operates hospitals in Polk and Henderson counties as well as eight other states.
But the deal isn’t done yet.
On Jan. 13, HCA once again appealed the state’s decision, sending the issue back to court and further delaying the construction of the Weaverville facility.
“We strongly believe Mission Hospital can best meet Western North Carolina’s growing need for complex medical and surgical care,” HCA spokeswoman Nancy Lindell told CPP. “If we had been awarded the beds, Mission Hospital could have had these beds available in the shortest period of time — beds which are desperately needed by our community.”
SUMMARY: Jim Jenkins, a North Carolina baseball trailblazer and Negro Leagues player, exemplified resilience and excellence both on and off the field. His sons recall his superior skills—hitting, running, and catching—and how he faced challenges due to his skin color. Beyond baseball, Jenkins was a community father, teaching youths fundamentals and helping those in need. He shared a friendship with legend Hank Aaron, often attending Braves games with his family. His legacy endures through his children, who honor not just his athletic achievements but his kindness and humanity, inspiring future generations to carry on his impact.
James “Jim” Jenkins had a profound impact on the game of baseball as a trailblazer known in the Carolinas.
SUMMARY: A scientist reflecting on the politicization of science warns that ideological influence undermines objectivity, breeds mistrust, and hampers public understanding. The FY2026 budget proposal cut NIH funding by about 40%, saving taxpayers $18 billion, but only 1.5% of the total federal budget, while increasing defense spending by 13%. These cuts severely impact states like North Carolina, where science drives $2.4 billion in tax revenue and thousands of jobs. The cuts target indirect costs vital for research infrastructure and diversity efforts, mistakenly seen as ideological rather than essential scientific practices. The author calls for unity to prioritize facts over politics and protect scientific progress for societal and economic health.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-06-15 02:01:00
North Carolina’s U.S. House members voted along party lines on two Republican-backed bills: the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (H.R. 1), which cuts \$1.6 trillion in government spending, and the “Rescissions Act of 2025” (H.R. 4), which eliminates \$9.4 billion from entities like USAID and public broadcasting. Republicans called it a purge of waste, citing spending on drag shows and foreign projects. Democrats criticized the cuts as harmful and symbolic, calling the effort fiscally irresponsible. H.R. 1 passed 215-214; H.R. 4 passed 214-212. No Democrats supported either. A few Republicans broke ranks and voted against their party on each bill.
(The Center Square) – North Carolinians in the U.S. House of Representatives were unwavering of party preference for two bills now awaiting finalization in the Senate.
Republicans who favored them say the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, known also as House Resolution 1, slashed $1.6 trillion in waste, fraud and abuse of government systems. The Rescissions Act of 2025, known also as House Resolution 4, did away with $9.4 billion – less than six-tenths of 1% of the other legislation – in spending by the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Corp. for Public Broadcasting (PBS, NPR), and other entities.
Democrats against them say the Department of Government Efficiency made “heartless budget cuts” and was an “attack on the resources that North Carolinians were promised and that Congress has already appropriated.”
Republicans from North Carolina in favor of both were Reps. Dr. Greg Murphy, Virginia Foxx, Addison McDowell, David Rouzer, Rev. Mark Harris, Richard Hudson, Pat Harrigan, Chuck Edwards, Brad Knott and Tim Moore.
Democrats against were Reps. Don Davis, Deborah Ross, Valerie Foushee and Alma Adams.
Foxx said the surface was barely skimmed with cuts of “$14 million in cash vouchers for migrants at our southern border; $24,000 for a national spelling bee in Bosnia; $1.5 million to mobilize elderly, lesbian, transgender, nonbinary and intersex people to be involved in the Costa Rica political process; $20,000 for a drag show in Ecuador; and $32,000 for an LGBTQ comic book in Peru.”
Adams said, “While Elon Musk claimed he would cut $1 trillion from the federal government, the recissions package amounts to less than 1% of that. Meanwhile, House Republicans voted just last month to balloon the national debt by $3 trillion in their One Big Ugly Bill. It’s fiscal malpractice, not fiscal responsibility.”
House Resolution 1 passed 215-214 and House Resolution 4 went forward 214-212. Republican Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky were against the One Big Beautiful Bill and Republican Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Nicole Malliotakis of New York and Michael Turner of Ohio were against the Rescissions Act.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article presents a straightforward report on the partisan positions and voting outcomes related to two specific bills, highlighting the contrasting views of Republicans and Democrats without using loaded or emotionally charged language. It neutrally conveys the Republicans’ framing of the bills as efforts to cut waste and reduce spending, alongside Democrats’ critique of those cuts as harmful and insufficient fiscal discipline. By providing direct quotes from representatives of both parties and clearly stating voting results, the content maintains factual reporting without promoting a particular ideological stance. The balanced presentation of arguments and absence of editorializing indicate a commitment to neutrality rather than an intentional partisan perspective.
