Two members of Transylvania Regional Hospital's board resigned Sept. 20, saying they are "powerless, voiceless and definitely unessential" now that the hospital is owned by Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare.
HCA, a for-profit hospital operator, acquired Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health in 2019. Transylvania Regional Hospital, a 92-bed hospital in Brevard, N.C., is part of Mission Health.
In a guest column published in The Transylvania Times, the board members, Mark Weinstein and Parker Platt, said they were enthusiastic about the sale of Mission to HCA, but they now feel embarrassed for supporting the sale.
"It is clear now … that the TRH board has no real ability to play any kind of impactful role," Mr. Weinstein and Mr. Platt wrote. "In almost all instances, from the essential of staff and community relations, to marketing, to the mass exodus of our physicians, our inability to provide direction or influence decisions have been apparent."
Mr. Weinstein and Mr. Platt, who served a combined 10 years on the board, said they hope their resignations will have a positive influence on the future direction of the hospital.
"We continue to support our local hospital as an important and vital part of our community. But we fear for its future," the former board members wrote.