Mission Healthcare Foundation, Inc. is a 26-year old 501(c)(3) “public charity” that is governed by a volunteer board of 32 trustees representing the local community. The Foundation is the ONLY Asheville-based non-profit to have attained nationwide accreditation by Charity Wise Alliance of the U.S. Better Business Bureau, meeting all 20 national standards.
Since its founding in 1985, Mission Hospital’s centennial year, the Foundation has solicited and received over $124 million in gifts and grants from all parts of Western North Carolina, the state and the Southeast as well as nationally.
During its history the Foundation has conducted four successful major capital campaigns that have helped to create several “Centers of Excellence” at Mission Hospital in Asheville:
1987-1989 $4 million campaign to create Heart Center
1998-2001 $6 million campaign to enlarge Neonatal ICU
2002-2005 $11 million campaign to build Children’s Outpatient Center
2009-2011 $15 million campaign to create new Cancer Center
The Foundation Trustees are as focused on program development and support as they are on “bricks and mortar” projects. Throughout its history the Foundation has contributed well over $7 million toward continuing education for bedside nurses and other allied health professionals at Mission, allowing them to attend national meetings across the United States bringing new ideas and best practices back to Mission for our patients. Support of critically-needed programs that do not generate income, have been a regular focus for Foundation funding. The Family Support Network, genetics counseling services, an extensive children’s dental program, a mobile simulation laboratory, development of an accredited Stroke Center, as well as funding large parts of the development of electronic medical records at Mission have all been funded by gifts and grants to Mission Healthcare Foundation. Current projects include helping to develop start up and stabilized funding for a branch Medical School and a Branch Pharmacy School as well as an expanded Research Institute. A redesign of Mission Children’s Hospital, both inpatient and outpatient will be partially funded by Mission Foundation.
Emergency and disaster response has received significant philanthropic and grant support from Mission Foundation. This includes the acquisition of a new Eurocopter aircraft stationed at Franklin, North Carolina that can quickly reach the remote and rugged mountain terrain west of Asheville. Extensive mobile disaster equipment including a 50-bed mobile hospital, pharmacy, x-ray and decontamination units have been funded by grants the Foundation sought and won.
As one Foundation Trustee says, “We have our hands in a lot of different places at Mission and the best thing is we are really bringing 'value added' to the patient care and level of service we want Mission to provide. We are certainly part of the success of the “Bigger Aim” at Mission that is defined as: creating the desired patient outcomes WITHOUT causing harm, WITHOUT waste and providing an EXCEPTIONAL patient experience.
