ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Two local health care executives engaged in a tense verbal exchange during a question-and-answer session that followed a presentation on a new hospital planned for the Weaverville area during an Oct. 3 meeting of the Asheville-based, pro-business Council of Independent Business Owners in UNC Asheville’s Sherrill Center. 

The $300 million proposal calls for a 222-bed facility on 30 acres in Weaverville, with an emergency department, intensive care, women’s services and specialty physician offices. Some officials have said the hospital could generate more than 1,000 jobs once open.

About 50 people attended the 20-minute presentation by Graham Fields, assistant to the president of nonprofit AdventHealth Hendersonville, which concluded with a 30-minute Q&A session.

Fields’ topic was on the “AdventHealth Expansion and Certificate of Need Report.” AdventHealth is based in Florida.

However, during the Q&A session, Greg Lowe, president of for-profit HCA HealthCare’s North Carolina Division based in Mission Hospital in Asheville, atttended the meeting as a regular CIBO member and, as such, fired a number of questions and comments in disagreement with — or even fully challenging — several of Fields’ assertions.

Earlier, CIBO Past President John Carroll opened the meeting, welcoming the attendees, and then called on CIBO board member Steve Foster to lead a prayer, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance

Following the words of the Pledge – “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all “ — Foster, as usual, added solemnly, “We hope!”

Next, Yvonne Villanueva-Russell, provost at UNCA, told the CIBO crowd — with a smile — that she said she would take “just a couple minutes” to extol the virtues of the university.

Among a number of points, she said UNCA offers “experiential learning” and that “we believe this liberal arts foundation” offered by the university “is a key to success for our graduates.”

In all, the provost spoke for four minutes.

At that point,  Fields began his address, noting that he is from the Reems Creek community, “which is very close to” Weaverville and the Madison County line.

In noting his connection to the area, stating emphatically, “It’s because I’m from ‘here. It’s home....”

(In contrast to Fields’ local roots, the Daily Planet, in its research, was unable to ascertain where Lowe was born and grew up — only that he “received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and attended the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, where he earned a dual master’s degree in business and health administration.”)

During his presentation, Fields, with a note of pride, said that “from 1910, we were the first hospital in Henderson County. We’ve grown to add AdventHealth/Polk — what used to be St. Luke’s Hospital in Polk County,” with the Weaverville hospital also being part of the area division.

Also, Fields asserted, “We’ve been serving Buncombe County for a long-time, but mostly in primary care...

“Nationally, we’re a not-for-profit. Even though we’ve been here since 1910, we’re part of something bigger — the largest faith-based hospital system in the county...” (AdventHealth is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church.)

In determining what to offer at the Weaverville hospital, Fields said, “We said” to the community: ‘These are your beds’ — what would you like to see happen with them?”

By surveying those in the area, “It gives the community a voice... So many of you said, ‘We want choice and options for health care in Buncombe County’... So we applied for those 67 beds in Weaverville… on about 30 acres near Walmart... 

“We wouldn’t be spending $300 million in your community if we didn’t believe in it,” Fields said in reference to the hospital.

As for the N.C. Certificate of Need that is required to proceed, he added, “We applied for it and (it) was approved... There was an appeal and an administrative law judge in court upheld the decision by the state to allow us the 67 beds....”

Pointedly, Fields told the CIBO meeting attendees that if AdventHealth was just looking to make money, instead of trying — sincerely — to meet an obvious health care need, it would not have chosen the Weaververville area. 

“For the highest demographic for a health care system, we would have chosen South Asheville for highest income highest demographic,” he asserted. “But (instead) we chose North Buncombe (County) and Weaverville, downtown Burnsville, downtown Mars Hill” and other communities in the area around the new Weaverville hospital.

Fields also said the objections in court by Mission Hospital/HCA seem to be never-ending.

“They (Mission Hospital/HCA) appealed (AdventHealth’s certificate of need approval for the Weaverville area) again to the state appeals court, which also upheld the 67 beds in a June decision. 

“Then Mission appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court. There is no timeline....”

Further, Fields said, “While we (AdventHealth) were in the process of litigating the 67 beds” another expansion opportunity at the Weaverville hospital arose, “so we then applied for another 26 beds and,” following hearings in Waynesville and Raleigh, we’re still waiting on that.”

AdventHealth also plans to apply for 129 additional beds this month, which would bring the total number of beds to 222.

To that end, Fields said, “So we’re building a hospital for 222 beds in Weaverville. Once, we get the go-ahead from the North Carolina Supreme Court, it will take 18 to 24 months to build the hospital in Weaverville.

“It’s also an incredible opportunity for job creation. It’s roughly the same size as its sister facility in Hendersonville, which involves 1,800 jobs.

“It’ll involve a force-multiplier in aiding surrounding areas that are far short on health service. It’s an opportunity to really give people competition for their health care.

“I’ve been to more than 50 hearings, finding out that people want competition.” He noted that, “as a nonprofit hospital, we (AdventHealth) have stakeholders, not stockholders…

“The reality is it (adding health care competition from AdventHealth to Buncombe County) puts health care back under the control of (local) communities,” Fields said.