For the past several school years, Buncombe County has had the highest immunization exemption rate for kindergarteners in NC -- at least 5 times higher than the state average. During last school year, over 4% of our county's kindergarteners had not received all their required vaccinations. Most of these children's parents claimed a non-medical reason for not vaccinating their children.

As you know, this places our community at a significant risk of a vaccine-preventable disease outbreak. The decision to not vaccinate is often fueled by misinformation and miscommunication in the media and among parents.

One study showed that a 20 second conversation with a physician can make the difference in helping a parent to decide to immunize.

Join Dr. Susan Mims, Frank Castelblanco and I for a special event at MAHEC on Tuesday, August 26 from 6-7pm.  A light supper will be provided as well as CEU credit.  Click here for event information.
   
Please join us. The health of our community depends on all of us speaking out strongly in support of immunizations.

Jennifer Mullendore, MD, MSPH
Medical Director
Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services

Acquisition of Clyde medical center is finalized, bringing new clinical and operational resources to strengthen health care in Haywood County and surrounding communities.

Read article.

Mission Health System will cut costs by $42 million next year under a reorganization plan that could mean layoffs.
Read Asheville Citizen-Times article.

Transylvania Regional Hospital (TRH), part of Mission, is being asked to make $1.5 million in cuts.

The Transylvania Times sat down with interim TRH President Craig James Thursday to discuss the budget cuts and what it means for TRH, the employees who work there and the community members who rely on the hospitals services for their health.
Read Transylvania Times article/interview.

The NC FAST Medicaid hard launch for Buncombe County will begin Monday, August 4, 2014. During the hard launch, all Medicaid cases will be moved from the historical system to the NC FAST system.

Click here to read the full press release.

WCMS is proud to announce another high quality addition to the series of "The Physicians' Voice" media presentations aimed to showcase to the general public our physicians' world-class medical expertise and focus on patient/community health.  
 
Here is the latest release: "Buncombe County Ranks Lowest for Immunizations in NC" by Dr. Jennifer Mullendore.

You can read all about The Physicians' Voice on our website.