Mission Hospitals
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{{Infobox Hospital
| Name = {{PAGENAME}}
| Org/Group =
| Image =
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| Location = [[Asheville, North Carolina|Asheville,]]
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| State = [[North Carolina]]
| Country = US
| HealthCare =
| Type = Regional Medical Center
| Speciality = General
| Standards =
| Emergency = [[Level II trauma center|Level II Trauma Center]]
| Affiliation= N/A
| Beds = 800 Licensed Beds
| Founded = 1998 through the merger of St. Joseph's Hospital & Memorial Mission Hospital
| Closed =
| Website = http://www.missionhospitals.org
| Wiki-Links =
|}}
:See also the [[list of mission hospitals]].
'''Mission Health and Hospitals''', formerly known as Mission St. Joseph's Health System, is located in Asheville, NC. Mission Hospitals was formed in [[1998]] through the merger of Memorial Mission Hospital and St. Joseph's Hospital, both located in Asheville. Today the hospital, licensed for 800 beds, houses two campuses, respectively called the Memorial campus and the St. Joseph campus. It is also the referral center for Western North Carolina.
== History ==
=== Pre 1947 ===
The history of Mission Hospitals can trace its roots back approximately 120 years when a group of women calling themselves "The Dogwood Mission" began offering healthcare services to some of the poorest citizens in Asheville. Mission Hospital began in a rented 5 room house at the intersection of Charlotte and Woodfin Streets in Asheville. Throughout the years, additional hospitals were established around the city. After World War II ended, Physicians and Nurses began coming to Asheville and were appauled at the numerous hospitals within the city. In 1947, it was decided that because of the lack of a major medical center, Mission Hospital would be the ideal choice to begin the formation of a modern medical center in Western North Carolina because of the acceptance of all people, rich or poor. Among the hospitals to merge with Mission was Clarence Baker Memorial Hospital (at that time known as Biltmore Hospital), which was established by the All Soul's Parish in 1896 and constructed on land donated by [[George Vanderbilt]] in 1900 on Reed Street.
=== St. Joseph's Hospital ===
St. Joseph's Hospital was established in 1900 by the Sisters of Mercy originally as a sanitarium for the treatment of [[Tuberculosis]] in a house on French Broad Avenue. After moving to Starnes Street in 1905, the sisters purchased the current site on Biltmore Avenue in 1909 that was the original residence of William Wallace McDowell, a prominet Confederate major who established a milita of volunteers from Western North Carolina during the Civil War, which was built in 1880. Over the years, the hospital expanded and additional services were offered. In 1938, the hospital was declared a general hospital. After numerous expansions, the orginal building was replaced with a more modern facility in 1974.
=== Memorial Mission Hospital ===
After the consolidation of the smaller hospitals and the merger of Mission and Memorial Hospitals, Memorial Mission Hospital began operations with the hospitals on Reed Street and Woodfin Street. In 1951, Biltmore Hospital closed and construction began on a new hospital on Biltmore Avenue, across the street from St. Joseph's and was dedicated in March 1954. As technology advanced and medical procedures were becoming very complicated and expensive, Memorial Mission began looking towards St. Joseph's in the hopes of combining operations.
=== Becoming Mission Hospitals ===
As the dawn of a new century approached, numerous technological advances were bringing medicine to the modern forefront of healthcare, and it also brought a major change to both St. Joseph's and Memorial Mission. In 1998, Memorial Mission purchased St. Joseph's from the Sisters of Mercy and created Mission St. Joseph's Health System. This merger also led to the purchases of community hospitals in [[Marion, North Carolina|Marion]] and [[Spruce Pine, North Carolina|Spruce Pine]]. Today, Mission Hospitals is a leader in providing quality healthcare to the people of [[Asheville, North Carolina|Asheville]], [[Buncombe County, North Carolina|Buncombe County]], and all of [[Western North Carolina]] with over 50 specialites and a cardiovascular program that ranks among one of the 100 best hospitals in the United States.
==External links==
* [http://www.missionhospitals.org Mission Hospitals]
[[Category:Hospitals in North Carolina|Mission Hospitals]]
[[Category:Asheville, North Carolina|Mission Hospitals]]
[[Category:Buncombe County, North Carolina|Mission Hospitals]]
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