Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Hospital has been placed in immediate jeopardy for the third time in two years.
Seven things to know:
1. The finding followed a Jan. 6-9 visit from state regulators, according to CMS’ statement of deficiencies and plan of correction report prepared Jan. 23.
2. After the survey, Mission Health, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, proposed an enhanced plan of correction, which CMS accepted Feb. 2, a health system spokesperson said in a statement shared with Becker’s on Feb. 4.
“After the survey at Mission Hospital concluded on January 9, 2026, we engaged in discussions with CMS and proposed an enhanced plan of correction that would allow Mission to address the findings from the survey and to complete a comprehensive review of our operations, processes, and outcomes, and ultimately, create a sustainable framework that enhances our patient safety and quality programs,” the spokesperson said. “We understand the responsibility that we have for the health and safety of our community, and we remain committed to providing high-quality healthcare to our patients.”
3. During the visit, regulators cited multiple deficiencies related to patient care and safety, including two patient deaths and failures to properly isolate infectious diseases, according to CMS’ report.
Specific incidents cited in the report included the death of an 88-year-old woman who did not receive a necessary blood transfusion following hip surgery and the death of a 55-year-old woman who suffered brain damage after her heart stopped for 15 minutes when staff failed to respond to urgent requests for heart monitoring. Regulators also said the hospital failed in two instances to follow its protocols for containing contagious airborne diseases, according to the report.
The report also highlighted incidents tied to inadequate staffing levels in the hospital’s behavioral health facilities, including one in which a nurse was attacked by a patient and only one security officer was initially available to respond because at least two other incidents were occurring simultaneously.
4. CMS initially rejected Mission Hospital’s enhanced plan of correction, submitted Jan. 20, and requested a revised one to be submitted by Jan. 29, the Asheville Watchdog reported Feb. 3.
5. A CMS spokesperson told Becker’s it will conduct an unannounced onsite revisit to confirm the issues have been corrected.
“In addition to the usual plan of correction required to address deficiencies following a survey, Memorial Mission Hospital has committed to a robust, enhanced plan to correct systematic and repeated patterns of quality concerns CMS has observed at this facility,” the spokesperson said.
6. In October, Mission Hospital was placed in immediate jeopardy for the second time in two years and given a deadline of Nov. 9 to come into compliance with Medicare conditions of participation. CEO Greg Lowe told employees Nov. 7 that the designation had been removed by the state surveying agency.
That immediate jeopardy was initially recommended by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. CMS accepted the recommendation later that month.
7. The hospital could face termination of its CMS Medicare Provider Participation Agreement if it is found to be noncompliant.
The latest update marks the hospital’s fourth immediate jeopardy designation since 2019. HCA Healthcare acquired Mission Health, a six-hospital system, for $1.5 billion in 2019.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 5:36 p.m. Central time on Feb. 4 to include the cause of the immediate jeopardy warning.
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