From Staff Reports

Dr. William Hathaway waxed enthusiastic about the history and impact of the Asheville-based Mountain Area Health Education Center — at the agency for which he is the CEO marks its 50th year of service — during his entire 30-minute address and question-and-answer session in a MAHEC report to the Council of Independent Business Owners on April 14 in UNC Asheville’s Sherill Center. 

CIBO’s meeting attendance was between 60 and 70 people.

The meeting featured one other 30-minute presentation — that also was capped by a Q&A session — involving an update on area road and highway projects, led by NCDOT Division 13 Engineer Tim Anderson, with help from fellow NCDOT Engineer Steve Cannon. (A separate story on the road update at the CIBO meeting appears on Page A1.)

In addressing the CIBO audience, Hathaway, who is a cardiologist, said MAHEC now employs “more than 1,000 workers there” – at its Asheville location at 121-123 Hendersonville Road in Biltmore Village. “It’s the ninth-largest health training center in Western North Carolina.”

Before joining MAHEC, Hathaway noted that he “was the chief medical officer for the largest hospital in Western North Carolina (Mission). In addition, the other key thing to know about him is that he “is a dog-lover,” prompting some laughter and cheers from the audience.

With a big smile, the doctor added, “We just adopted a golden retriever!” to his household.

After a brief pause, Hathaway quipped, “When I die, hopefully I’ll come back as a golden retriever on a college campus,” noting that would a consideration for those who entertain the notion of reincarnation.

'As we enter our 50th year in existence... many people know that MAHEC has ‘something to do with’ heath care,” Hathaway said. “I hope you’ll share the good word....” 

As some in the crowd laughed, good-naturedly at his sheer enthusiasm, Hathaway told the audience, “I feel like a preacher up here!”

Turning serious again, Hathaway said, “Our four-buiding campus is behind the Double Tree and Hampton Inn (on Hendersonville Road in Biltmore Village). We’ve been there since 2011.

“We are one of nine AHEC’s in the state,” noting that  Area Health Education Center program “was established by Congress in 1972... Our (the Asheville area’s) MAHEC was established in 1974.

“Given that this is 2023, and MAHEC is now on the eve of our 50th anniversary, our mission continues,” he said.

In working closely with Mission Hospital, Hathaway said of MAHEC, “We are here to recruit, train and retain the workforce needed to create a healthy North Carolina

“Programs start early — programs and mentoring for students in middle school, high school, college -— and beyond... We have health career clubs and a health career academy... As you progress through your career, we have internships and an AHEC Scholars program.”

“As of this month (April), we have 185 residents in 14 graduate medical education (residency and fellowship) programs this year.

Since MAHEC’s formation, it has produced “more than 700 medical and dental graduates, to date,” Hathaway said.

Also, he noted, “As of July of this year, that 185 will go up to 216 residents — so we’re very excited about that!” (The residents and fellows program is MAHEC’s largest).

“If we can get them (the students) here and train them here, we can keep them here. It’s very important,” Hathaway said. 

He then spoke, at length, about “the economic impact of retention,” noting, “Retaining one physician benefits the local economic system.

Total output at MAHEC is valued at an estimated $2,150,795, he said, specifying that he was speaking of the economic impact of a MAHEC graduate currently practicing in North Carolina since 1978.

“Over half of our people (after graduation) stayed in North Carolina — that’s a huge number. It’s hundreds of millions in taxes and employment that this program drives.

“We started in 1974, with family practice... In 2009, we started up a partnership in medical residency” and later added “academic partners.” 

Further, Hathaway said, “Many people don’t know we provide medical residency

“It’s kind of crazy — you can graduate from dental school and just start practicing. We strive for interprofessional education….”

After another brief pause, Hathaway said, “I’ve only been at MAHEC for 14 months.Our biggest partner is Mission Health, of course. We provide a lot of patient care, with more than 2,000 patient visits last year.

“We’ve had a crisis with OB (obstetrics) care in rural areas. But shockingly, they’re still having sex up there, still making babies and still need care!”  (Hathaway’s comments triggered some chuckles from the crowd.)

Continuing, he said, “There’s a dearth of psychiatric providers in the (WNC) area. Of the four who graduate this year, all four joined HCA (Asheville-based Mission Health is owned by for-profit HCA Healthcare, based in Nashville, Tenn.)

Further, he said, “For fiscal year 2022, we (MAHEC) delivered over half the babies delivered at Mission Health.

In 2023, Hathaway also said that MAHEC totaled 231,813 patient visits to all locations, with 2,131 babies delivered. ‘We want to do both,” he added.

“We have a spectacular hospital (Mission Health) here — the services there are just what we (MAHEC) need....

“We (MAHEC) want to be a community service organization

“We work on the training of community health workers,” which he stressed is critically important because “not everyone has access to care....

“The other part of the (MAHEC) community effort was the COVID response…MAHEC administered vaccines, did testing” and performed many other aspects needed to treat it during the pandemic and beyond.

Hathaway added, “There’s a crisis in rural communities around opioids. We (at MAHEC) care for the patients — and we train other doctors to care for the patients.

“We get about a third of our revenue from patient care, a third from contract revenue, 12 percent from grant revenue and 23 percent state appropriations,” he said.

As for current projects, he said, “We’re building a 450-spot parking deck for $14 million.

“To end up, we’ve had a lot of growth, from 2015 to 2022, MAHEC grew from 537 to 1,034 employees,” Hathaway concluded.

During a brief Q&A that followed, an unidentified woman asked about Lyme Disease — and “what MAHEC was doing about it?”

“That’s part of our (MACEH’s) comprehensive approach to the delivery of care,” Hathaway replied. There’s a disease elective you can take... Rocky Mountain Fever is coming here.  Lots of tick-born illnesses are coming here....”