By Andrew R. Jones
Fifty doctors, including a former member of the board of directors of Mission Hospital and a former chief of staff, have written a letter condemning what they say is HCA Healthcare’s “for-profit-driven” management after buying the nonprofit hospital system in 2019 for $1.5 billion.
Dr. Robert Kline, the former board member before the purchase, read the letter Thursday night at a public meeting hosted by Gibbins Advisors, the independent monitor hired by Dogwood Health Trust to oversee HCA’s compliance with the terms of the sale. It was the second of six such meetings planned for western North Carolina.
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Map of HCA North Carolina Division hospitals, including Mission Credit: Asheville Watchdog“Many of the for-profit-driven changes that HCA has wrought, despite advocacy and protests from multiple sectors, have gutted the heart and soul of our community healthcare system,” stated the letter, addressed to Ronald Winters, managing director of Nashville-based Gibbins. “The relationships and deep personal investment…