When one door closes, another door opens
A little over a year ago, MountainCare announced that we were unable to continue services in Transylvania County without adequate financial support. Despite the hard work and best efforts of staff and other supporters, we have been unable to obtain adequate funding, and Transylvania Adult Day officially closed its doors on January 31st.

"The last two weeks have been difficult for all of us," explained Elizabeth Williams, Executive Director. "We believe that every community deserves an Adult Day program, so the decision to close one of our centers was not taken lightly."

All three programs faced similar challenges over the last two years, but Transylvania Adult Day had unique conditions that steered this decision. Revenue loss during the pandemic further intensified the negative operating budget inherited from Mission Health. Additionally, when the Adult Day programs exited Mission during the HCA transition, MountainCare was forced to begin paying rent to HCA for the Transylvania facility which was built in 2005 specifically for providing Adult Day Services and paid for through the generosity of the local community. Although we have been working diligently over the last year to secure funding or transition the program to another organization, we were unable to accomplish this without a disruption to services, and therefore had to close the program.

The good news:

"When we first announced a possible closure, we received many messages of support," said Williams. "The financial contributions we received provided support for an additional year, but they were not enough to sustain things long-term under MountainCare. However, it's clear that the Transylvania community has the desire to keep this program going, and we remain hopeful it will reopen its doors through a different organization in the future. For now, two-thirds of the individuals served there have enrolled at our Henderson Center, where they continue to benefit from Adult Day."

There are still many things worth celebrating at MountainCare right now:

  • Nearly 600 people received services through Adult Day and the Seating Clinic in 2021
  • Mountain Explorers, a part-time social group located in the Buncombe Center, will reopen later this month for the first time since March of 2020
  • New fencing is currently being installed at the Henderson program thanks in part to funding provided by the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina - just in time for spring!
  • MountainCare increased its number of individual donors by 260% last year, more than tripling our annual donations from $22,848 in 2020 to $73,206 in 2021

“Right now, we're moving forward with Transylvania Adult Day heavy on our hearts but Buncombe and Henderson Adult Day on our minds," said Sunny-Dae Larson, MountainCare's Development Coordinator. "As a relatively young non-profit, the number one thing that will pull us all out of survival mode and towards a position of growth will be individual donations. We're counting on our community of support, including caregivers and donors, to spread the word and let others know about the impact these services have on the lives of so many."

If you or someone you know in Transylvania County is in need of services, please contact Henderson Adult Day at 828-697-7070.
Meet Tiffani Goss
Volunteer Spotlight: Luna
Luna is an 8 year old Golden-Doodle and life-long volunteer. Her mom, Leah, started training her to become a therapy dog at just 8 weeks old. Over the last 7 years, Luna has volunteered in hospice, long-term care, memory care facilities, a dialysis clinic, Togus Veterans Hospital, two universities, and a Ronald McDonald House. We are excited to add Adult Day to her "resume!"

Luna is an excellent retriever of frisbees, sticks, and balls, and will retrieve until she can barely swim. She likes other dogs, but she LOVES humans. Though she gets along with kids, Luna prefers the company of older adults. You can meet Luna and her mom, Leah, at Buncombe Adult Day.
We’re excited to share that MountainCare earned a 2022 Gold Seal of Transparency from Candid (formerly GuideStar), demonstrating our commitment to sharing information about our work so that you can support us with trust and confidence.
If you prefer to give by check, please mail donations to MountainCare, PO Box 5956, Asheville, NC 28813. Thank you!
Learn more about our services:
MountainCare, Inc.
P.O. Box 5956
Asheville, NC, 28813