Mission Hospital has applied to become a Level I trauma center, the highest designation a healthcare facility can receive for caring for severely injured patients, according to a state health department document obtained by Asheville Watchdog.
If approved, the HCA Healthcare-owned hospital would be the only such trauma center in western North Carolina.
On July 15, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services gave Buncombe County one month — until last Friday, Aug. 15 — to share any concerns it had about the application from the hospital, which has been beset with concerns about its emergency room as well as other departments…