Mission launches Dogwood Health Trust for proceeds of proposed HCA deal

Dillon Davis | The Citizen-Times

Show Caption Hide Caption What happens if HCA buys Mission Health? Reporter Mark Barrett explains aspects of the proposed sale of Mission Health to Hospital Corporation of America.

The organization is a nonprofit, private non-operating foundation.

Mission Health said it created Dogwood Health Trust on Monday.

It would be funded from the proceeds of Mission's sale to HCA Healthcare Inc.

ASHEVILLE — Ahead of a potential sale to HCA Healthcare, Mission Health's board of directors said Monday it has launched its nonprofit, private nonoperating foundation that would spawn from the proceeds of the deal.

Mission said the foundation, Dogwood Health Trust, would be a "region-wide resource" enabled to make "significant investments" and develop partnerships in the region. The creation of the foundation has been billed by hospital leaders as a major benefit of the sale of not-for-profit Mission to HCA, a Nashville-based for-profit company. The potential deal first was announced by Mission in March.

Through new partnerships, the organization hopes to "analyze, understand and address core social determinants of health and well-being" in Western North Carolina, according to a hospital news release.

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Its founding chair is Boone native Janice Brumit, who also is a member of Mission's board. Mission said Brumit will oversee a period where its board will become fully formed. Once it is, the board will undergo "a deliberate, multiyear process" to learn about the history of past health care conversion foundations, obtain necessary approvals for operation and develop staff and infrastructure, Mission said.

"DHT will then prioritize these needs, identify collaborative strategies to address them using our communities’ existing strengths and seek partnerships with others to implement its long-range strategic plan," the hospital system said.

Brumit said in a phone interview Monday taking the position is "a huge, huge responsibility." She said she was drawn to the role, noting most others on the Mission board already have full-time jobs whereas she's more "probably what you'd call a community volunteer."

Brumit has held several prominent local board roles in the past including at the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina and the Buncombe County Economic Development Coalition as well as being a former UNC Asheville trustee.

However, Brumit said she expects "minimal" holdovers from the Mission board, which would be dissolved in a deal with HCA, to join a similar capacity on the DHT board. The reason, she said, is because the foundation will search out more "regional members" in its effort to serve 18 counties in the state.

But as she notes, DHT will not be funded until the time where a sale is complete.

"We can’t do anything until that is finished and completed," she said. "It’s somewhat premature but we wanted folks in the community to understand the money we’ll receive from the purchase will be going into that trust."

Once operational, Dogwood Health Trust is expected to be one of the three largest foundations in the state. Right now, the largest are Charlotte-based Foundation For The Carolinas and the Rocky Mount-based Golden LEAF Foundation

No purchase price for Mission has been announced. Mission CEO Dr. Ron Paulus said in May the foundation could generate $50 million to $100 million in income based on a 5 percent return on its assets — implying a purchase price for Mission of between $1 billion and $2 billion.

Grants are not expected to be awarded until at least 2020, the hospital system said.

In March, Brumit told the Citizen Times the formation of the foundation is "the community's big advantage in this whole thing."

"(The) money stays in the community, used for Western North Carolina on all the things we were discussing," she said. "It stays here and does good here, on top of having a hospital system that can operate pretty much as it always has."

The organization said an application process for DHT board members will begin Aug. 1. Applications and criteria are expected to be available at DogwoodHealthTrust.org.

This story will be updated.