Mountain Maladies Page

Thanks for the birthday love, friends! I usually do a birthday fundraiser through FB but this year I am connecting to a special new local organization that I’m excited to be working with and supporting. The group is compromised of state legislators, local elected leaders, local physicians, patient advocates, healthcare leaders and administrators, retired business leaders and members of the clergy who have come together to hold HCA accountable for the healthcare crisis that was created when Mission Hospital was sold to the notorious for-profit chain of hospitals. The group is led by Julie Mayfield for NC Senate and supported by many physicians you may know such as Mike Messino (founder of Messino Cancer Center), Allen Lalor, Clay Ballentine, Bruce Kelly, and Robert Kline. We have other local elected leaders such as Brevard Mayor Maureen Copelof and Highlands Mayor Patrick Taylor. Please click on the GoFundMe to see other local leaders you may know but I want to tag personal friends in the coalition Karen Sanders, Miriam Schwarz Missy Harris

In all honesty, I had lost hope that anything could be done about the unsafe conditions that led to the hospital recently being placed in Immediate Jeopardy by CMS. Conditions were so bad that the hospital was at risk of losing Medicare and Medicaid funding. However I’m feeling hopeful again that change can occur due to the work of the committed and well-respected leaders of this group. HCA has never faced a community with this much resolve and grit. We’ve seen our friends and family members suffer pain and indignity in their most vulnerable moments and it has to stop.

This is an all-volunteer group with no one taking a salary.

While our coalition members have many skills and talents, this is a major effort and we need additional, specialized resources. To that end, we are raising money, with the WNC Health Equity Coalition as our partner and fiscal sponsor, to secure communications, media, research, and administrative support.

It would mean a lot to me if you would consider making a donation to help celebrate my birthday this year. If you can’t give please consider sharing this post to your wall and to any groups. You can also share the actual GoFundMe link below to friends off of Facebook through texts or emails.

Hold HCA Accountable!, organised by Sarah Ray Asheville, Buncombe County, and the western region have seen the quality of healthcare and patient saf… Sarah Ray needs your support for Hold HCA Accountable!

We have been thinking deeply about ways to further the mission of Mountain Maladies and make good use of our members and followers. Last week we met with publishers, editors, and writers of AVL Watchdog to discuss a shared proposal. AVL Watchdog has done some of the deepest reporting to date on health care woes in WNC. These healthcare issues that impact us originate from the local, state, and national levels. In many ways, the stories we hear about our local healthcare are a symptom of bigger issues that need deep LOCAL investigation.

Wouldn't it be amazing if Watchdog had the funds to support a full-time healthcare journalist who could focus only on healthcare issues in WNC?

That is what we are proposing to you. We would like to use the many connections formed here in MM to do just that through a series of donations, advertising, memorials, events--and anything else you can think of to bring this to fruition.

This won't be easy and we need your help. Please complete this form to help us gauge interest and ideas to make this a reality in coming years. Please complete the form and then share the link with your network on and off of Facebook. Share it by email, Twitter, Instagram, text----copy and paste it to anyone you may know who would support this project. We will use the data from this form to build a campaign to fund dedicated independent local healthcare journalism.

Would You Support A Dedicated Investigative Healthcare Reporter for WNC? Would You Support a Dedicated Investigative Healthcare Reporter for WNC? Mountain Maladies has approached the veteran journalists at Asheville Watchdogabout dedicating an investigative reporter full-time to covering healthcare in Western North Carolina. This community-funded position would be a two-...

https://avlwatchdog.org/down-town-part-5-every-time-i-hit-it-i-hope-it-kills-me/?vgo_ee=n0jp%2BFN1Ek1pVjOtgO8NoqX1xpbuqmPgk0tzpGDAw0A%3D

Down Town, Part 5: ‘Every time I hit it, I hope it kills me’ • Asheville Watchdog Michael Barber Sr. sat by himself in the east side of downtown’s Pritchard Park on a recent Tuesday afternoon, wondering where he would spend the night. That’s if his next hit of fentanyl doesn’t kill him. And sometimes, he said, he hopes it will. Barber, 37, acknowledged being a daily use.....

This is a really special group.

Let’s “Open the Doors” of CCLD! | Center for Conscious Living & Dying (Powered by Donorbox) Dear friends,To officially open our doors, the Center for Conscious Living & Dying has launched the Open Our Doors campaign to raise $175,000 which will cover essential renovations and improvements to the Sanctuary, outfit our offices, and cov...

Celebrating 10 African-American medical pioneers They broke barriers and shattered stereotypes and went on to conduct research, discover treatments, and provide leadership that improved the health of millions.

Susan & Marilyn, Certified Application Counselors of Get Covered WNC, attended a Jackson County Chamber of Commerce meeting held at the Lazy Hiker Brewing Co. in Sylva and sent us this selfie!

The Certified Application Counselors (CACs) at GetCoveredWNC serve the seven western counties of North Carolina and the Qualla Boundary. Administered by Mountain Projects, we offer free, unbiased information about all health insurance options and about other healthcare resources in your community, and we help clients apply for insurance through the Healthcare Marketplace. Our appointment scheduling is flexible and we provide year-round case management.

To get in touch with a Certified Application Counselor, please call Mountain Projects for an appointment: 828-452-1447!

The person in this position will have to: Research current audience engagement trends, manage twice-weekly email newsletter, facilitate and engage in online conversations, monitor SEO, and more.

See the listing here:

https://www.journalismjobs.com/job-listing/1675199

This looks like a great opportunity for someone interested in social media, journalism, and healthcare.

The person in this position will have to: Research current audience engagement trends, manage twice-weekly email newsletter, facilitate and engage in online conversations, monitor SEO, and more.

See the listing here:

https://www.journalismjobs.com/job-listing/1675199

We love learning more about the wonderful work being done to support our Healthy Opportunities Pilot members and other families across WNC. Beacon of Hope Services prepares healthy food boxes for weekly pickup in north Buncombe, Madison, and Yancey counties.

1/3 of newspapers gone in 2 years; what about in Asheville, WNC? A quarter of the country's newspapers have folded since 2005. A recent Asheville forum looked into the status of news organizations in WNC.

If you are new to Medicare or want further knowledge about Medicare programs, we have a class to help you. Don’t forget to register!

The Healthy Opportunities Pilot offers free transportation services like rides to the grocery store or gym or vehicle repairs for Medicaid Managed Care participants. Call 828-278-9900 or visit impacthealth.org/hop to learn more!

We are proud to be partnering with Impact Health to offer car repairs in WNC as part of the state-wide Healthy Opportunities Pilot. The program is focused on supporting Medicaid clients with social determinants of health. Here's just one story of how this pilot is bringing multiple organizations together to make a real difference.

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The Pilots Have Literally Changed My Life

During a routine doctor’s appointment, an enrollee was identified as having multiple unmet health-related needs. The most pressing was transportation, as he had not had reliable transportation in five years. He lives in a rural county that does not have public transit, and his car has needed constant repairs.

Through the Healthy Opportunities Pilots, he was able to have his brakes repaired, which has allowed him to keep medical appointments and reconnect with his community, which is helping with his depression.

In addition to the car repair, he is also receiving a fruit and vegetable prescription, and his wood-burning furnace is being repaired just in time for winter. When asked about how the Healthy Opportunities Pilots have impacted him, he shared that “the Healthy Opportunities Pilots have literally changed my life.”

https://www.ncdhhs.gov/about/department-initiatives/healthy-opportunities/healthy-opportunities-pilots/healthy-opportunities-pilots-work

We are holding Walk-In Interviews every Wednesday from 10 am to 12 pm at our Hospital's Main Campus.

You don't need an appointment. Just bring your resume and references, and let's talk about your future in health care.

When you join AdventHealth, you become part of a family that believes in caring for our team members just as much as our patients. Plus, our mission-driven philosophy focuses on delivering whole-person care designed to heal not just the body, but the mind and spirit as well.

See you on Wednesday.

Andrew has done excellent healthcare reporting.

A loss for ACT and a win for Watchdog.

Nelson Mullins - Corporate Practice of Medicine Doctrine: Increased Enforcement on the Horizon? A primary consideration of medical practice owners and stakeholders in developing and implementing a compliant corporate ownership structure is what is known as the “corporate practice of medicine” doctrine (“CPOM”). Although there are state-level variations as to its scope and breadth, in i...

We are excited to bring FREE medicine with MedAssist to 📍Haywood County on 📅 Friday, Mar. 10!

Pre-order your medications today and see if you qualify for MedAssist Free prescription pharmacy program through 1:00 pm on Friday, Mar. 3., at https://bit.ly/3Hif6wT.

There will be no fees, no ID checks, or financial qualifications.