News from the South - North Carolina News Feed

Noncompliance potential on HCA’s Mission deal draws reaction

Published

4 weeks ago

August 1, 2025

carolinapublicpress.org – Jane Winik Sartwell – 2025-08-01 08:25:00

by Jane Winik Sartwell, Carolina Public Press
August 1, 2025

Employees at Asheville’s Mission Hospital say they aren’t shocked to hear that parent company HCA is potentially in noncompliance with its purchase agreement of the Mission Health hospital group for the second year in a row. Neither are the region’s elected officials.

The company, however, maintains that it is in compliance, despite the noncompliance findings of an independent monitor.

Molly Zenker has worked as a nurse at Mission Hospital since 2017. She’s an original member of the nurses union there — the only one of its kind across North Carolina. Despite the ratification of a new contract between the union and the hospital last year, tensions remain high.

“It’s quite evident every day that Mission and HCA are failing to comply with the standards they were set to hold,” Zenker told Carolina Public Press.

“All their failings get back to not having enough staff to take care of the patients. It’s hard to maintain my own standards of care in that environment.”

HCA purchased Mission Health, the North Carolina mountain region’s largest hospital system, for $1.5 billion in 2019. In allowing the acquisition, the state attorney general’s office placed key stipulations on the purchase, to which HCA agreed. Dogwood Health Trust, which is charged with monitoring HCA’s compliance with the purchase agreement, announced Tuesday that it intends to notify the health system of three instances of potential noncompliance.

Out of the three instances of potential noncompliance that occurred in 2024, only one remains active. That’s the hospital’s failure to maintain emergency/trauma and oncology services.

Local lawmakers say the noncompliance issues reflect a broader pattern of behavior.

“HCA will try to get away with whatever it possibly can,” state Rep. Brian Turner, D-Buncombe, told CPP. “I would not say I am surprised.”

For other lawmakers, it’s a question of accountability and transparency.

“If it’s true that HCA is not compliant with the purchase agreement, then we need to proceed down that path,” state Rep. Eric Ager, D-Buncombe, told CPP. “HCA hasn’t served the people of Western North Carolina as well as it could. If they aren’t meeting their requirements, they need to be held accountable.”

But the biggest critic of HCA in the General Assembly has been Sen. Julie Mayfield, D-Buncombe.

Mayfield leads Reclaim Healthcare, a coalition of physicians, nurses, elected officials, business leaders, clergy and advocates whose goal is to replace HCA Healthcare as owner of Mission Health with a nonprofit hospital system, as Mission Health was prior to HCA’s acquisition. Mayfield is also an HCA shareholder.

“Reclaim welcomes the IM’s findings that HCA is in ‘possible’ non-compliance with the APA,” wrote Aaron Sarver, spokesperson for the coalition.

“HCA has failed to remedy all areas of noncompliance identified by the IM last year and, therefore, continues to provide inadequate emergency and oncology services to the people of Western North Carolina.”

Sarver also points out that in a recent patient survey, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yielded a two out of five star rating for patient experience at Mission Hospital.

The hospital has a different story to tell about the potential noncompliance findings. For them, the independent monitor’s findings don’t reflect reality.

“While Mission Health values the work of Dogwood Health Trust, we remain confident in our compliance with the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement,” HCA spokesperson Nancy Lindell told CPP.

“As noted in the report, CMS accepted our corrective action plan more than a year ago and we were found to have zero deficiencies at the conclusion of another survey in June. The report mentions again our improvements to Mission Health’s charity care policy. Since joining HCA Healthcare, Mission Health has not engaged in litigation against patients over unpaid medical bills, including filing liens.

“Mission Health remains committed to serving the community of Western North Carolina and providing the quality healthcare that our patients deserve.”

Zenker occasionally works in the oncology unit at Mission Hospital. In that unit, care allegedly was so diminished that Gov. Josh Stein sued the hospital for breaching their purchase agreement during his time as attorney general.

Regardless of whether HCA is in compliance or noncompliance with the purchase agreement, the situation in oncology remains desperate, according to Zenker.

“There is one nurse to give chemo some days,” Zenker said. “And a lot of times, it’s someone who is coming in extra to do that, because there’s nobody else, not even a pharmacist.

“We had an exodus of pharmacists at HCA. That’s led to not having any chemo pharmacists. If we don’t have a pharmacist to mix the chemo, we can’t give it. After the hospital was placed in Immediate Jeopardy by CMS last year, they came up with a 300-page plan to fix things. Nothing mentioned staffing, because they make their money off of short-staffing the hospital.”

In his lawsuit against the hospital, Stein wrote that Mission Cancer Center no longer employs a single medical oncologist, and that patients with leukemia and lymphoma must travel to Charlotte or the Triangle for care.

CON battle continues amid noncompliance concerns

The noncompliance concerns come as Mission Hospital brings its fight to prevent AdventHealth from building a competitive hospital to the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Advent has already started construction on what would be the region’s second-largest hospital, and one of the only health care options not owned by Mission. But last week, the high court issued a temporary stay requested by HCA as it challenges Advent’s approval for the facility.

Rep. Turner welcomes the hospital competition, saying he is encouraged that there are other health systems looking to invest in Buncombe County. “I want choices. I want Advent. I want Novant. I want options,” he said.

The noncompliance issues only reinforce his view that the region needs alternatives. After Helene, Turner temporarily moved his parents out of Asheville because he was concerned about the care they might receive at HCA if something serious happened.

HCA argues the region would be better served by expanding Mission’s capacity rather than building competing facilities.

“We strongly believe Mission Hospital can best meet Western North Carolina’s growing need for complex medical and surgical care,” Lindell wrote.

“Instead of adding more beds at facilities that are unable to provide the complex medical and surgical care needed, the region would be better served by expanding bed capacity at Mission Hospital. We consider it a privilege to care for our region’s sickest patients but need more beds to do so.”

Zenker agrees that a second hospital could be a good thing for the region’s sick.

“I don’t love Advent either, but a little competition is always good,” Zenker said.

“If HCA is fighting it this hard, it means there’s something they will lose if another hospital is built here. I think that’s a fairly good signifier that it would be good for the community.”

This article first appeared on Carolina Public Press and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Noncompliance potential on HCA’s Mission deal draws reaction appeared first on carolinapublicpress.org

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: Center-Left

The content primarily highlights concerns about corporate accountability, labor issues, and healthcare quality, emphasizing criticism of a large healthcare corporation (HCA) from union members, Democratic lawmakers, and healthcare advocates. It supports increased regulation and oversight, as well as alternatives to corporate ownership in healthcare, which aligns with center-left perspectives that prioritize workers’ rights, public accountability, and expanded access to healthcare. The article presents the corporation’s viewpoint but generally frames it as less credible compared to the critiques, reinforcing a moderate progressive stance without extreme partisanship.

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News from the South - North Carolina News Feed

Updated COVID vaccine approval adds restrictions for some patients

Published

16 hours ago

August 29, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – ABC11 – 2025-08-29 23:25:04

SUMMARY: As fall approaches, updated FDA guidelines restrict COVID-19 vaccine eligibility primarily to those 65 and older or younger high-risk individuals with underlying conditions like asthma, diabetes, or heart issues. Raleigh pharmacy manager Santa Rita Christian notes customers must meet these criteria or have a prescription. The CDC will review these updates next month, influencing insurance coverage. CVS now requires prescriptions for vaccines in North Carolina and 12 other states due to unclear ACIP guidance, causing pharmacy confusion. Health experts urge parents to consult healthcare providers about risks, especially for young children and high-risk contacts.

The vaccines are approved for use in people 65 and older, as well as those younger with at least one health condition that makes them high-risk.

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News from the South - North Carolina News Feed

BRIC program cuts leave NC communities in limbo

Published

1 day ago

August 29, 2025

Staff Editor

carolinapublicpress.org – Lucas Thomae – 2025-08-29 05:00:00

by Lucas Thomae, Carolina Public Press
August 29, 2025

Dozens of North Carolina communities are in limbo after FEMA canceled more than $200 million worth of grants for flood-mitigation projects earlier this year in the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant program, also known as BRIC.

For Forest City in Rutherford County, the now defunct grant program was meant to be a safety net. Flooding along the Second Broad River exposed the area’s vulnerability to heavy rainfall five years ago, when rising water smashed debris into a main line and cut off running water to Forest City and the nearby towns of Ellenboro and Bostic.

Repair work following the storm revealed more problems.

Erosion along the river left Forest City’s sewer system and raw water intake at risk of flood damage, but the town didn’t have the money to fix it. Federal emergency management officials told town officials that they would be a good fit for a new grant program aimed at pre-disaster mitigation.

Through its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant program, FEMA awarded Forest City $2.6 million for improvements to the town’s water and sewer systems. The project was well into the planning and design process when the federal government revoked the grant.

FEMA announced the end of the BRIC program and canceled all applications from fiscal years 2020 through 2023 on April 4, calling the program created during President Donald Trump’s first term “wasteful and ineffective” in press releases.

In total, 72 North Carolina communities with active BRIC-funded projects worth about $225 million were affected.

Town officials across the state told Carolina Public Press that the mitigation projects they view as essential to keeping their communities safe are now caught in a federal political battle in Washington.

“I don’t consider water and sewer projects to be political or woke,” Town Manager Janet Mason said.

Neither did a bipartisan group of 80 members of Congress, which released a letter addressed to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson shortly after the grant program’s termination, urging them to reverse the decision.

“BRIC funds are spurring communities across the country to strengthen their resilience to extreme weather, and forgoing these critical investments will only make it harder and more expensive for communities to recover from the next storm,” the letter read.

Instead, the legislators suggested that FEMA and Congress work together to improve the grant program’s application review and funding distribution processes.

Sen. Thom Tillis and Rep. Chuck Edwards, both North Carolina Republicans, helped craft the letter. Rep. Don Davis, a Democrat representing the northeastern part of the state, and Rep. Alma Adams, a Democrat representing Charlotte, were the other two members of North Carolina’s Congressional delegation to add their signatures.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to CPP’s request for a comment on pushback from lawmakers and local governments over the ending of the BRIC program.

Meanwhile, the communities with active BRIC-funded projects have been left to wait as the future of those funds is litigated in court. North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson joined 19 other U.S. states in suing Noem and Richardson last month, arguing that FEMA’s termination of the grant program was illegal.

The lawsuit has three components.

First, it argues that a 2006 federal law protecting FEMA from being dissolved also prevents the government from “substantially reducing FEMA’s mitigation functions.”

Secondly, the complaint states that FEMA’s refusal to spend funds directed towards the BRIC grant program by Congress violates the legislature’s power of the purse, as granted by the Constitution.

Lastly, it claims that Richardson and his predecessor Cameron Hamilton, who was removed from his position as acting FEMA administrator on May 8, did not have legal authority to end the BRIC program because neither were ever confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Those plaintiff states won a small victory on Aug. 5 when a United States District Judge placed an injunction on preventing the federal government from spending the BRIC funds until the court gives a final decision.

As noted in the lawsuit, FEMA had planned to return about $882 million of the BRIC funds to the U.S. Treasury and another $4 billion to its Disaster Relief Fund, which is reserved for post-disaster spending.

While many BRIC-funded projects in North Carolina have been put on pause as the federal money is withheld, some projects which have begun construction using already-obligated funds continue to advance.

Such is the case with Princeville, a low-lying community in Edgecombe County which was awarded $11 million to develop a 53-acre plot of land outside of the floodplain which encompasses much of the town.

Princeville Mayor Bobby Jones told CPP that the town continues to draw BRIC funds to work on the project.

Other communities, like Salisbury in Rowan County, are actively searching for alternative funding sources to complete their BRIC projects.

Salisbury was previously awarded $22.5 million through BRIC to relocate its existing water treatment facilities to a location more resilient to flooding. Utilities director Jason Wilson told CPP that the site of the new facilities is shovel-ready, which the city hopes makes it an attractive candidate for other grant programs.

The city intends to apply for FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which unlike BRIC is a post-disaster relief program. Salisbury is eligible to apply since Rowan County was included in the federally declared disaster area following Hurricane Helene.

The City of Lumberton is also searching for a new source of funding for stream restoration, wetland preservation and trail construction projects, which it received a $1.9 million BRIC grant for several years ago.

The Robeson County city, which sits on the Lumber River, has been working since 2016 to develop land it bought from property owners following Hurricane Matthew into an expansive public trails system.

Deputy City Manager Brandon Love told CPP that he’s optimistic that the city will find an alternate source of funding to keep the project moving forward, but it’s nonetheless a disappointing development after years of planning.

“Getting caught up in the politics of things going on in Washington is hitting home here at the local level,” Love said, “and that’s unfortunate.”

This article first appeared on Carolina Public Press and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post BRIC program cuts leave NC communities in limbo appeared first on carolinapublicpress.org

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

The content presents a critical view of the cancellation of a federal grant program initiated under the Trump administration, highlighting bipartisan concern and legal challenges against the decision. It emphasizes the negative local impacts and frames the termination as a politically motivated action that harms community safety and resilience efforts. The article leans slightly left by focusing on government responsibility in disaster mitigation and portraying the current administration’s actions as detrimental, while also acknowledging bipartisan opposition and including voices from both Republican and Democratic officials.

News from the South - North Carolina News Feed

Inside NC’s tourism push: Tracking Helene’s impact, ‘playing heartstrings’ & wrangling social media

Published

1 day ago

August 29, 2025

Staff Editor

ncnewsline.com – Galen Bacharier – 2025-08-29 04:30:00

SUMMARY: After Hurricane Helene caused flooding and damage to western North Carolina’s Biltmore Estate and surrounding areas, Visit NC launched marketing campaigns to revive tourism. Initially urging in-state residents and visitors to cautiously return, they shifted to the “Rediscover the Unforgettable” campaign, promoting outdoor activities and local attractions. Despite sluggish tourism in 2025, spending remained near 2024 levels. Visit NC invested nearly $14 million in targeted advertising, leveraging social media influencers to counter negative online flood imagery impacting visitor sentiment. Support from Governor Josh Stein, a vocal advocate for the region’s recovery, has been crucial in maintaining positive momentum and encouraging travel.

Read the full article

The post Inside NC’s tourism push: Tracking Helene’s impact, ‘playing heartstrings’ & wrangling social media appeared first on ncnewsline.com