| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Chancy M. Kapp |
| DATE: July 12, 2002 | PHONE: (919) 733-7051, ext. 309 |
Mission St. Joseph's Health System Pledges $35,000 to
North Carolina Community Colleges Foundation
RALEIGH- Mission St. Joseph's Health System in Asheville has pledged $35,000 to the Health Care Initiative of the North Carolina Community Colleges Foundation.
The announcement comes jointly from Dwight Allen, chair of the Board of Directors of the Foundation, and Robert F. Burgin, President and CEO of Mission St. Joseph's. The donation was made through the health system's Community Benefit program.
Allen, who is executive vice president of the North Carolina Telephone Cooperative Coalition, said in accepting the contribution, "Mission St. Joseph's is one of North Carolina's top providers of quality health care and has a history of enthusiastic support for community college education. This gift to the statewide foundation is a vote of support and approval for the crucial role all our community colleges play in meeting the growing need for skilled employees in health care."
"Community Colleges in Western North Carolina have been crucial in preparing professionals for work at Mission St. Joseph's and in community hospitals in the western region," said Burgin. "Without them, we would not be able to staff our hospital and provide the life-saving services we do. We recognize how important the Community College system is to our organization and to our community, and we are proud to be able to support these institutions of learning and professional education."
Mission St. Joseph's is the 800-bed regional referral center for Western North Carolina. It provides both the state-designated neonatal intensive care unit and Level II Trauma Center, as well as virtually all medical specialties. Mission St. Joseph's employs more than 5,000 people, about half of whom must complete the type of professional preparation available through North Carolina's Community College System.
Mission St. Joseph's and Asheville-Buncombe Community Technical College recently developed a special program to provide an RN program through evening and weekend training. It is designed to help meet an international critical shortage of RN's on the local level.
"Without the North Carolina Community College system, hospitals in our state literally could not operate," said Burgin. "They also provide the people of North Carolina with skills they need to be successful in a changing economy. It's truly a win-win partnership.
The North Carolina Community Colleges Foundation was formed in 1986 to help sustain the mission and programs of the North Carolina Community College System. After several dormant years, the Foundation was reorganized in 1998 under the leadership of H. Martin Lancaster, President of the North Carolina Community College System. The board members now include top leadership from business and industry, philanthropy, education and government.
The Foundation is conducting a capital campaign to raise at least five million dollars for an endowment to fund statewide efforts on behalf of community colleges. The pledge from Mission St. Joseph's Health System will go into an endowment to support a focused effort to project workforce needs in North Carolina's health-related industries and match education and training programs to those needs.
The North Carolina Community College System, with almost 800,000 students, is recognized internationally as a top provider of workforce education and training. The System includes 58 comprehensive community colleges and the North Carolina Center for Applied Textile Technology.
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