Business Buzz: 3/22/22

Announcement:

• On Friday, March 18, Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) welcomed 81 new residents on National Resident Matching Program’s Match Day. On this day, medical school graduates from across the United States and abroad learn where they will train for the next three to seven years including graduate medical education (GME) programs here in Western North Carolina (WNC). MAHEC has expanded its GME program offerings for the second year in a row with additional family medicine and OB/GYN residency slots and new fellowships in maternal-fetal medicine, addiction psychiatry, and sports medicine. Over the next year, 185 physicians, dentists, and pharmacists will train in a variety of settings across the region including HCA Mission Health, Charles George VA Hospital in Asheville, Pardee UNC Health Care in Hendersonville, Appalachian Regional Healthcare System in Boone, and Broughton Hospital in Morganton.
• Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, along with Habitat for Humanity International and 83 U.S. Habitat affiliate organizations, recently received $436 million in unrestricted giving from American author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. Of that, Asheville Habitat received $5M. This transformational donation will substantially help further Habitat’s vision of a world where everyone has equitable access to a safe, decent and affordable place to call home. Over the next 3-5 years, Asheville Habitat will use the $5 million donation to ramp up its home repair program, accelerate its new home construction program in Buncombe County, expand services to Madison County, and secure land to build future Habitat neighborhoods. Read more here.
• AdventHealth Hendersonville has announced their newest DAISY Award winner. Sandra Lively, RN, CEN, works in the Imaging Department at AdventHealth Hendersonville. Sandra recently she took the extra time to help a patient in pain. The patient had been admitted to the emergency department and desperately needed his PICC line replaced. Any movement at all was causing him excruciating pain. ER Clinical Nurse Supervisor, Maria Blakeman, RN, CEN, SANE, EMT-P, knew that Sandra was trained to replace PICC lines. Maria walked over to imaging and requested her help. Sandra was just about to leave from her shift, but she stayed and helped the patient. The DAISY Award was created by the family of J. Patrick Barnes in 1999 to thank the nurses who cared for Patrick and for them as he battled an autoimmune disease. Learn more here.

Happenings:

• The USTA and the U.S. Billie Jean King Cup Team will welcome Team Ukraine to Asheville, N.C., and the Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville for a Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Qualifying tie April 15-16, 2022. The USTA will donate 10 percent of the ticket revenue from the event to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund by Global Giving, where local sponsors Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos, Ingles Markets and New Belgium Brewing Company will also make donations. The USTA will organize a number of visible support activations on the ground in Asheville and will encourage fans to make their own donations. Click to learn more or to donate to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund by Global Giving.
• AdventHealth Hendersonville is hosting a free webinar about nutrition featuring Outpatient and Oncology Dietitian, Erin A Massey MS, RD, LDN. Nutrition impacts every aspect of our lives. However, it does more than just fuel our bodies and brains. Nutrition is also a key factor in preventing cancer. Studies show appropriate diets can help reduce the risk for up to 40-percent of all cancers. Massey will share information on food choices and eating habits that help prevent cancer and support a healthy eating lifestyle. She will help participants understand exactly what antioxidants are and their role in cancer prevention. Plus you will find out which foods are recommended to eat frequently as part of anti-cancer diet. This free webinar will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, March 29 from 6 to 7 p.m. Space is limited for this event, so register today here or call 855-774-LIFE (5433).
• The  Policy Innovative Leaders of Tomorrow of UNC Asheville is holding a fundraiser on April 22 called The Change Gala in which students hope to sustainably equip the Food Equity Initiative, UNC Asheville’s permanent program, for the future of food security work at UNC Asheville. The  Policy Innovative Leaders of Tomorrow is a student-driven public policy team dedicated to instituting a long-term sustainable solution to food insecurity at UNC Asheville. Food insecurity is the state of being without reliable access to healthy and affordable food. In many cases for students, it takes the form of not eating during the day or skipping meals because they can’t afford the food on campus. . Learn more and RSVP here.

Hire:

• The YMCA of Western North Carolina has announced that Kevin Young has joined their senior leadership team as Vice President of Human Resources. He will oversee recruitment, retention, and HR initiatives for all local operations, including seven YMCAs, afterschool childcare programs, and YMCA Camp Watia. Young, a Hendersonville native, most recently served as Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging and Employee Relations/Diversity and Inclusion Manager for the Biltmore Company. His past experience includes HR management roles at Evergreen Packaging (formerly Blue Ridge Paper and Champion Papers), Southeastern Container, and BorgWarner Automotive. Read more here.