ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Community members will have an opportunity next month to share concerns about HCA Healthcare’s management of Mission Hospital during two public listening sessions hosted by Dogwood Health Trust and the system’s independent monitor.

The meetings, scheduled for March 9 and 10, come as Mission Hospital brings in an independent consultant to oversee safety and quality improvements after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services placed the hospital in “immediate jeopardy” status for the third time in two years.

CMS required the consultant as part of its response to serious patient safety concerns, including two patient deaths, a reported assault on a nurse and a measles exposure in the hospital’s emergency department earlier this year. “Immediate jeopardy” is the most serious sanction issued by the federal agency and indicates conditions that pose an immediate risk to patient health and safety.

Affiliated Monitors Inc., which serves as the Independent Monitor under the 2019 Asset Purchase Agreement between HCA Healthcare and the former nonprofit Mission Health System, will provide updates on its oversight work. The monitor is responsible for evaluating HCA’s compliance with commitments made as part of the sale.

Each meeting will include a review of findings from the 2024 reporting year and an overview of the process for the 2025 report. Representatives from Dogwood Health Trust, HCA, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office are expected to attend.

Dogwood Health Trust CEO Dr. Susan Mims said community input plays a key role in the oversight process.

“The perspectives and feedback that community members share, either through the Independent Monitor’s website or in meetings, is essential to evaluating HCA’s compliance with the Asset Purchase Agreement,” Mims said in a statement.

Attendees may submit questions or comments in advance for follow-up by the monitor and participating organizations.

The meetings are scheduled for:

  • March 9, 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Transylvania County Library, Rogow Family Community Room, 212 Gaston St., Brevard.
  • March 10, 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Western Carolina University at Biltmore Park, Room 346, 28 Schenck Parkway, Asheville. The Asheville session will be livestreamed, and a recording will be posted afterward.

Advance registration is requested. Doors will open 30 minutes before each meeting.

The sessions are part of the monitor’s broader community engagement efforts. Affiliated Monitors said it has conducted outreach to stakeholders, health care providers and members of HCA hospital advisory boards in recent months and plans additional visits in March and May 2026. Community members and organizations may also request one-on-one or small-group meetings with the monitor during those visits.