Welcome to DKos Asheville.
This space appears each weekend to share links to news and opinion from Asheville and Western North Carolina. The floor is open for comment and discussion. Wishing all a good day from this beautiful part of the world.
“Daily Kos fights for a progressive America by empowering its community and allies with information and tools to directly impact the political process.”
Today’s edition includes continuing Mission/HCA news, appeal to stop stacking rocks in streams, and a look at the candidates running for the Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District board and why it matters.
Coalition launches to replace Mission Hospital’s ownership
Reclaim Healthcare WNC, a volunteer-led grassroots coalition dedicated to replacing HCA Healthcare as the owner of Mission Hospital and other hospitals in the region, has officially launched.
HCA, a Nashville-based for-profit health care system, purchased nonprofit Mission Hospital for $1.5 billion in 2019. HCA’s management has drawn scrutiny since the sale, including for delays and lapses in care, and nurses have warned about what they say are unsafe nurse-to-patient ratios.
Reclaim Healthcare WNC’s goals are to replace HCA with a nonprofit hospital system, “hold HCA accountable for its harmful culture and practices” and “restore best-in-class health care throughout the Mission system,” per a press release.
State Sen. Julie Mayfield says the coalition loosely formed in October when a group of about eight health care providers, clergy and politicians began meeting. It has since grown and now has a name, a website and social media. Group leadership meets twice a month. It has not held any public meetings yet. “We’re encouraging people to go to the website and take the actions on the website,” Mayfield says.
Mayfield says it remains to be seen whether “something … triggers HCA to sell quickly … or it could take a while. We don’t know.” But she’s optimistic a sale is possible and emphasizes the coalition is “in for the long run.” Reclaim Healthcare WNC’s fiscal sponsor is advocacy organization Health Equity Coalition of WNC.
Dogwood Health Trust notified the N.C. Attorney General’s office Tuesday morning that it plans to warn HCA about potential violations of the terms of HCA’s 2019 purchase agreement for the Asheville-based Mission Health hospital system, based on HCA’s annual report and the findingsof an independent monitor.
Dogwood is notifying HCA of three instances of potential noncompliance, concerning:
- Provision of emergency and trauma services and oncology services at Mission Health
- Failure to remain “enrolled and in good standing” in Medicare and Medicaid
- Issues with uninsured and charity care policies
HCA, the Tennessee-based for-profit hospital chain, acquired the Western North Carolina nonprofit Mission Health system in 2019 for $1.5 billion. This purchase resulted in the creation of the Dogwood Health Trust, a foundation which holds the money HCA paid to the nonprofit.
In allowing the acquisition, the Attorney General’s Office placed key stipulations on the agreement to which HCA agreed.
Dogwood has been entrusted with ensuring that HCA remains in compliance with those stipulations. The trust is tasked with hiring an independent monitoring company to help make this judgment.
CHEROKEE, N.C.- In the heart of downtown Cherokee lies the Oconaluftee Island Park. Along the riverbanks, park visitors frequently build wading pools and stack rocks out of the water. These rock structures may seem harmless, but their environmental impact can’t be ignored.
The Oconaluftee River is inhabited by a diverse ecosystem, and disturbing the rocks affects several aquatic species. The fish that live in the river depend on mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies as a food source. These insects lay their eggs on the bottoms of rocks. When the rocks are stacked above the water level, the eggs dry out, killing them and breaking the lifecycle. Fish are affected even more directly when the eggs they lay beneath the rocks are exposed to predators.
“The issue isn’t that a few kids are moving rocks, it’s that we’re next to the most visited national park in the country, and that park brings in 13 million people a year. Those millions of people result in thousands on the island. If it was just local Cherokee people doing it, it wouldn’t be that much of a problem. At the scale we’re seeing, it’s going to cause big eco system shifts, and we are concerned about that,” EBCI Fish and Wildlife Biologist Caleb Hickman said.
The eastern hell bender is another species negatively impacted by rock disturbance. This salamander is listed as endangered by the National Park Service, and moving the rocks that they call home can kill them and expose their eggs to predators.
Buncombe County residents will see a number of high-profile elected positions on their ballots when they head to the voting booth this fall, from president to governor to Congress. But one race may leave folks scratching their heads.
Voters will be asked to select Stu Rohrbaugh of Asheville or Blair Thompson of Swannanoa for the position of Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District supervisor. If you don’t know what a Soil & Water Conservation District is or what a supervisor does, you are not alone.
“Every election cycle we have people voting for our board, and most people tell us they have no idea what they’re voting for,” says Jennifer Harrison, director of the county’s Soil and Water Conservation District.
So here’s a quick primer before you head to the polls.
Why the position matters
Meet the candidates
We may get some impact from Debbie late next week.
Wishing all a nice weekend.
“Be safe out there” Lamont Cranston
