Ambulance service in Jackson County could more than double in cost to taxpayers if commissioners decide to fund the full $1.4 million budget requested by Harris Regional Hospital.

When a report estimating cost and space needs for a new animal shelter came back with a staggering price tag — the report estimated a cost of $5.4 to $6.6 million — Jackson County commissioners had to catch a breath and start rethinking their planned timeline of capital construction. 

The CEO of Haywood Regional Medical Center stepped down suddenly last week, effective immediately.

Eric Messer only has one complaint about the health and wellness initiatives the town of Waynesville has been pushing with its employees. The fitness tracking bracelets passed out by the town weren’t designed with sewer plant workers in mind.

It’s been a while since the old Mountain Credit Union building in Cherokee saw foot traffic from people looking to deposit checks or get financial advice, but its doors still swing open and closed with regularity — though for a much different purpose.

When someone shows up to a medical clinic, sick and suffering, the hardest words to say can be, “Sorry, but you’ll have to wait three months for an appointment.” 

A $5.5 million renovation and expansion of the New Generations Family Birthing Center at Harris Regional Hospital will soon be underway.

Harris Regional Hospital is a powerhouse when it comes to delivering babies in the mountains, a legacy it has pledged to maintain with the symbolic merger of the hospital’s OB doctors into a single practice under the hospital’s umbrella.

Dr. Frank VanMiddlesworth is on a mission to bring free medical care to the uninsured in Swain County and improve the overall health of its residents.

Construction is now underway for a new emergency department at Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva, an $11 million project that will replace the existing emergency department, nearly 30 years old.