The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is conducting an unannounced investigation at Mission Hospital following nurse complaints about staffing issues and alleged avoidable patient deaths. NCDHHS surveyors, working on behalf of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), are inspecting complaints filed by nurses, including concerns over staffing in the ICU and the death of a patient in February. Previous investigations in late 2023 revealed care deficiencies that harmed 18 patients, leading to CMS placing the hospital in immediate jeopardy. Mission Health is working to address these issues under federal oversight.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services representatives are at Mission Hospital conducting an unannounced investigation of nurse complaints on behalf of the top federal health agency in the nation, Asheville Watchdog has learned.
An NCDHHS spokesperson said Wednesday that employees from the department’s Division of Health Service Regulation will be there for an undetermined amount of time.
“On Tuesday, May 13, surveyors from NCDHHS-Division of Health Service Regulation (DHSR) entered Mission Hospital to conduct an unannounced survey,” spokesperson Summer Tonizzo said in an email. “The survey team will remain onsite until the survey is complete. DHSR’s survey work at Mission Hospital is performed on behalf of [the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services]. DHSR and CMS continue to work closely together with respect to this work.”
Mission Health spokesperson Nancy Lindell did not immediately respond to The Watchdog’s request for comment.
Mission nurses said they received calls this week from surveyors confirming DHSR was looking into complaints they filed recently.
Some of those complaints addressed staffing issues in various departments, including the intensive care unit, and allegedly avoidable patient deaths. It is unclear whether anyone filed a complaint about the February death of an emergency department patient. The man died in a bathroom after his call for assistance went unanswered for several minutes.
“I started hearing from coworkers yesterday that surveyors were in house,” said Kerri Wilson, a cardiology nurse and member of the nurses’ union’s Professional Practice Committee. “I got a courtesy call from a staff member at DHHS to let me know that there were, in fact, surveyors in house admission investigating complaints that I had filed.”
Wilson said she spoke to two other nurses who received courtesy calls from DHSR. At least one was interviewed by the agency, she said.
Wilson said she filed one complaint regarding issues at the new South Asheville emergency department. She would not provide further detail about the complaints, but said they mainly focused on staffing issues at locations throughout the Mission Health system.
“We see the dangerous staffing every day, and when nurses are taking care of more patients than they should, they are undoubtedly going to… miss those very subtle changes that could mean truly life or death for those patients,” Wilson said.
Nurses file complaints when they feel there is not enough support from the hospital, Wilson said, adding that “when administration won’t listen to us who are screaming from the bedside we go to regulatory agencies that can help hold them accountable.”
In November and December 2023, NCDHHS surveyors visited Mission and found that 18 people had been harmed over two years, including four who died, because of deficiencies in care in the emergency and oncology departments. CMS placed the hospital in immediate jeopardy, the most severe sanction a medical facility can face. After the hospital issued a plan of correction, the federal government lifted the immediate jeopardy in early 2024.
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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 presents a critical examination of hospital administration and regulatory oversight, focusing on worker complaints and alleged deficiencies in patient care. It emphasizes labor concerns, healthcare accountability, and governmental agency involvement, which are often associated with center-left perspectives that support regulation, public health investment, and worker advocacy. However, the article maintains a factual tone without partisan rhetoric, aligning it closer to center-left rather than more ideologically driven left or far-left reporting.
SUMMARY: North Carolina’s proposed House Bill 958 would require voters to provide their full Social Security numbers when registering, a move experts say violates the 1974 federal Privacy Act, which prohibits denying rights for refusing to disclose full SSNs. Current law accepts less sensitive identifiers like driver’s license numbers or the last four SSN digits. Critics, including privacy advocates and voting rights groups, warn this requirement risks identity theft and creates barriers to voting without enhancing security. Legislators sponsoring the bill have yet to justify the full SSN demand, and the measure faces legal and procedural challenges as it advances through the House.
SUMMARY: A man, 62-year-old Bryant Alton, died after his car was struck by a Norfolk Southern cargo train at the Clayton railroad crossing near Central and East Maine around 10:45 a.m. Alton reportedly tried to bypass lowered crossing arms with flashing lights when the collision occurred. The crash severely damaged his Toyota Corolla, and police closed nearby streets for investigation and cleanup. This is the second fatal train incident in Clayton this month, following the death of a 21-year-old UNCW student hit by an Amtrak train. Local residents expressed shock, and officials have yet to respond about potential safety improvements.
A Clayton man died after attempting to drive around crossing gates at a railroad crossing on Monday morning.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-08-25 09:11:00
North Carolina motorists are paying about 30 cents less per gallon for gasoline than the national average, with the state average at $2.86 for unleaded gas and $3.45 for diesel. Prices are slightly lower in the mountains and higher along the coast. Compared to last year, gas and diesel prices have decreased. The state follows EPA rules requiring summer blend fuel until September 15, adding 10-15 cents per gallon. North Carolina has over 8 million combustion engine vehicles and more than 100,000 electric vehicles, with EV charging rates below the national average. Motor fuel taxes fund state transportation projects.
(The Center Square) – As they often have throughout the summer, motorists in North Carolina are paying about 30 cents less than the nation on average for gasoline.
Summer’s unofficial closing of Labor Day weekend arrives this week, with many families already in the state’s tourism meccas. The state average for a gallon of unleaded gasoline is $2.86, with prices a little lower in the mountains and a tick higher along the 320 miles of ocean shoreline.
A year ago, the state average was $3.11, according to the American Automobile Association. The average for diesel is $3.45, down from $3.64 a year ago.
Nationally, the unleaded gas average is $3.16, down from $3.35 last year, and diesel is $3.68, down slightly from $3.70, respectively.
Per Environmental Protection Agency rules in place from June 1 to Sept. 15, the less volatile summer blend fuel must be sold. Price impact is generally considered 10 cents to 15 cents higher per gallon.
Combustion engine consumers make up more than 8 million vehicle registrations in the nation’s ninth-largest state.
North Carolina’s electric vehicle charging rate average, according to AAA, is 33.2 cents per kilowatt-hour. The national average is 36.3 cents per kWh. More than 100,000 zero-emission vehicles are registered in the state. At the start of the calendar year, the state norm was 33.5 cents per kWh and the national was 34.7 cents per kWh.
Among 14 major metro areas, the least expensive average for unleaded gas is in Fayetteville at $2.76. The most expensive area is the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area at $2.92.
Diesel is the most consumer-friendly ($3.29) in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton market.
North Carolina’s 40.3 cents per gallon tax rate for 2025 is topped by California (59.6), Pennsylvania (57.6), Washington (49.4), Illinois (47), Maryland (46.1), and New Jersey (44.9).
Motor fuel taxes in the state fund the Department of Transportation’s highway and multi-modal projects, accounting for more than half of the state transportation resources. The revenues go into the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund.
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
This article provides a straightforward report on gasoline and diesel prices in North Carolina compared to national averages, along with information about electric vehicle charging rates and state fuel taxes. The language is neutral and factual, focusing on data, statistics, and relevant state policies without endorsing or criticizing any political ideology or party. The content neither advances a particular political perspective nor uses charged language, making it a clear example of neutral, factual reporting rather than an article with discernible political bias.
