ASHEVILLE – HCA Healthcare and Mission Hospital responded Feb. 13 to the lawsuit brought by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, which alleged that HCA failed to provide the level of emergency and cancer care it agreed to when it purchased the Mission Health system in 2019.
In a 66-page legal filing, attorneys representing the hospital and its corporate owner denied allegations that the company is not providing the level of emergency services and cancer care required as part of the 2019 agreement to buy the system. They argued that the hospital maintained the services required by the contract.
The filing, submitted in North Carolina Business Court, denied allegations about the hospital’s inadequate staffing levels in the emergency department, at times shifting the blame to employees.
“Mission strives to maintain staffing levels that are adequate based on patient acuity and volume,” according to the reply brief, which at multiple points notes the hospital’s attempt to add staff. “When circumstances beyond Mission’s control dictate, such as when staff unexpectedly call out from scheduled shifts, certain units may have higher nurse to patient ratios.”