After a week of rain, the sun rose brightly over the new Cherokee Indian Hospital and the crowd attending its opening day.

Leaders of Western Carolina University, Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital announced the expansion and formalization of a partnership focused on ensuring access to quality health care in North Carolina’s westernmost counties.

When John Buchanan first took the jail captain job at the Jackson County Detention Center, one assignment quickly rose to the top of his to do list: figure out a better option for inmates’ health care.

Mission Health opened a new $7 million medical complex in Haywood County this week offering an array of health care services in a jaw-dropping facility.

A new program will enable a limited number of Macon County residents to seek primary medical care at the health department beginning this fall.

Within six months, a primary care medical clinic for Evergreen Packaging employees went from being on the chopping block to expanding its services.

By Katie Reeder • SMN Intern

Primary care physicians play a key role in the health care system, often addressing patients’ health concerns before their conditions require the more specific knowledge of a specialist. 

After years of education and learning the pharmaceutical ropes, Jacob Reiche had just about reached the end of his.

Dozing in and out of sleep on the flight home from Leon, Nicaragua, I was thinking about circles. More to the point, I was contemplating the work of my father-in-law, Bill Sullivan, at the hospital in Leon, the Hospital Escuela Oscar Danilo Rosales Arguello.

I had read something recently about people who lead meaningful lives and how they move in circles, how as they circle back to relationships, places, or important work they add layers of emotional depth to their existence. Returning again and again to those touchstones, everything becomes more relevant and worthwhile as all those interactions add up over days, months and years.

Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital have embarked on exciting futures for our hospitals and communities.  

Early this month, we unveiled new names and logos for our hospitals that highlight our connection to Duke LifePoint Healthcare. While this was the first visual representation of our relationship with Duke LifePoint, the benefits of our becoming part of its system began several months ago.