PART 1: Sub-Mission | State Sen. Julie Mayfield, Retired Dr. Bruce Kelly, Chaplain Missy Harris of Reclaim Healthcare WNC

So much has been written and said in the five years since the corporation HCA Healthcare purchased Asheville’s nonprofit Mission Hospital. Doctors, nurses and other staff have fled amid what many see as the company’s push for profits over people. North Carolina’s attorney general has filed lawsuits. Nobody involved in the original deal has spoken candidly about how this sale even made it across the finish line.

Today is the first in a two-part conversation with leaders of a new coalition called Reclaim Healthcare WNC. They are State Senator Julie Mayfield, retired physician Bruce Kelly and Missy Harris, who recently left Mission after five years there as a chaplain.

We delve into the significant changes at Mission after its acquisition by HCA, the changes this coalition wants to see and why, after all that has been said and done to chasten HCA to this point, the people behind Reclaim Healthcare WNC believe they can hold HCA to account and inspire substantive change.