Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit, nonpartisan team of professional journalists who provide free, in-depth reporting to local news outlets in western North Carolina.  Recently, the group investigated Hospital Corporation of America, the for-profit company that acquired Mission Hospital in 2019.  Since then, Asheville Watchdog reports that Mission Health has become the most expensive hospital in North Carolina for many of its procedures, with prices often double the state average.

At LAF's virtual forum on Wed., October 27th, two of Asheville Watchdog's veteran reporters, Peter Lewis and Barbara Durr, will talk about their work with emphasis on the HCA/Mission Hospital investigation.  They'll also be available to answer your questions.

Peter Lewis is a former senior writer and editor for The New York Times, senior editor of Fortune magazine and John S. Knight Fellow and Hearst Visiting Professional in Residence at Stanford University where he taught journalism.

Barbara Durr is a former correspondent for The Financial Times of London and a former editor of NPR's "All Things Considered." She also was a senior manager at two international nonprofits, CARE and Oxfam.

This forum is free and will be available via Zoom to current LAF members.  The program will begin at 12:00 noon and end at approximately 1:30pm.  The extra half-hour, which we're calling a Deeper Dive, should allow time for more in-depth discussion.