North Carolina city officials took aim at what they considered a lack of communication from Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare as it worked to close its acquisition of Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health, according to the Citizen Times.
North Carolina Sen. Julie Mayfield, who was on the city council during the 2019 acquisition, was one of the officials speaking out about HCA's lack of communication with city officials.
"We asked repeatedly for HCA officials to come speak with us and the answer, well, actually I just don't think there was an answer. They just never came," Ms. Mayfield said, according to a May 9 Citizen Times report.
Buncombe County Commission Chair Brownie Newman also told the Citizen Times he had a similar experience during the deal.
"We did have several of these meetings, but it was made very clear this process was already very far along and it was more about wrapping up the details than determining whether this was a good decision for the region," Mr. Newman said, according to the Citizen Times. "Local government didn't really have any meaningful input in the process."
The comments from elected officials came during an April 28 Buncombe County Health Department roundtable, where community leaders discussed HCA's $1.5 billion acquisition of Mission and how it affected nurses, physicians and patients.
"While it is disappointing that those who did participate on the panel felt unsatisfied with their care or experience, the objective reports Mission Health receives demonstrate that we have increased quality and services at our hospitals," an HCA and Mission Health spokesperson told the Citizen Times.