Quick Reads

  • Collaborating: Dogwood Health Trust is spending more than $7 million on its Digital Opportunities Initiative.
    Collaborating: Dogwood Health Trust is spending more than $7 million on its Digital Opportunities Initiative.

    ASHEVILLE

    Mission top 50 hospital

    Mission Hospital has been named one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for 2025, according to new research released by Healthgrades, the leading marketplace connecting doctors and patients.

    This achievement puts Mission Hospital in the top 1% of hospitals nationwide for overall clinical performance across the most common conditions and procedures. This is the 10th consecutive year Mission Hospital is among America’s 50 Best, and Mission is the only hospital in North Carolina to make America’s 50 Best Hospitals list.

    Mission Hospital’s achievements are based exclusively on what matters most: patient outcomes. To determine the top hospitals for 2025, Healthgrades evaluated risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates for more than 30 of the most common conditions and procedures at about 4,500 hospitals nationwide.

    Healthgrades awards recognize the top 1%, 2% and 5% of hospitals in the country for clinical excellence – providing consumers with resources to enhance their health-care journey.

    Details: Visit missionhealth.org.

    RALEIGH

    Gillespie on committees

    Speaker Destin Hall of the N.C. House of Representatives on Jan. 29 announced House standing committee assignments for the legislative 2025-26 biennium.

    State Rep. Karl Gillespie (R-Franklin) was appointed to serve on the following committees:

    • Agriculture & Environment (co-chair).
    • Appropriations, Agriculture and Natural & Economic Resources (co-chair).
    • Appropriations (vice-chair).
    • Emergency Management and Disaster Recovery.
    • Federal Relations and American Indian Affairs.
    • Health.
    • Rules.
    • Wildlife Resources.

    “It is a great privilege to have the opportunity to serve on these critically important House committees,” Gillespie said in a release. “Working with my colleagues to advance policies that benefit our great state is an honor, and I would like to thank Speaker Hall for his trust in me.

    “The General Assembly has a substantial workload ahead, and I am committed to ensuring that western North Carolina’s needs are prioritized and addressed.”

    Details: Visit ncleg.gov/house.

    ASHEVILLE

    Working for fast internet

    The nonprofit Dogwood Health Trust has announced 10 local collaboratives as part of its Digital Opportunities Initiative.

    The collaboratives are one part of a larger, more than $7 million effort to make broadband internet available, affordable and useful for everyone in the 18 counties and Qualla Boundary of western North Carolina. Each was selected through an RFP process in 2024.

    Data shows that one in five households nationally – which translates to about 80,000 households in western North Carolina – lack internet connectivity, with many more facing limited access or missing critical digital skills and devices.

    This lack of access intensified following Hurricane Helene, which exposed the vulnerability of the region’s telecommunications infrastructure and highlighted how quickly communities without reliable digital access can become isolated.

    Details: Visit dht.org.

    CHEROKEE COUNTY

    Public meetings

    THIS WEEK

    • Cherokee County Board of Education meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Central Office, 2230 Airport Road in Marble. Live-streamed on the school district’s YouTube channel. The board will also have a workshop at 4 p.m. to discuss consolidation proposals.
    • Cherokee County Tourism Development Authority meets at 4 p.m. Monday in the Murphy Visitors Center, 20 Tennessee St.
    • Cherokee County Board of Health meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Cherokee County Health Department, 228 Hilton St. in Murphy.

    COMING SOON

    • Cherokee County Veteran Forces meets at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
    • Andrews ABC Board meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17, in the ABC Store, 13934 U.S. 19 in Andrews.
    • Cherokee County Board of Commissioners meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17, at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy. Live-streamed on the Scout’s Facebook page.
    • Murphy ABC Board meets at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, at the ABC Store, 818 U.S. 64 W. in Murphy.
    • Cherokee County Department of Social Services Board meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, in the DSS conference room, 4800 U.S. 64 W. in Ranger.

    Compiled by Publisher David Brown.