In a previous article I wrote about the Mission/St. Joseph's Hospital Complex. Asheville is also home to another significant medical center - the Charles George VA Medical Center at 1100 Tunnel Road. Originally opened in 1922, in 2007 this facility was renamed in honor of Pfc Charles George, a member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. Pfc George, only 20 at the time, threw himself upon a live grenade in order to protect his fellow soldiers. Pfc George gave his life on November 30, 1952, near Songnae-dong, Korea.
Pfc Charles George
The Charles George VAMC serves approximately 100,000 veterans in a 19 county area of Western North Carolina. In addition, this facility serves veterans from eastern Tennessee, and up-state South Carolina and Georgia. The Veterans Administration Website provides an overview of this facility:
"The Asheville VA Medical Center is a tertiary care, 116-bed acute care facility located in western North Carolina. Asheville operates a separate 120-bed Community Living Center, serving the western North Carolina area and portions of South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. The Center's services include extended care rehabilitation, psychogeriatric care, and general nursing home care. Comprehensive health care is provided through the spectrum of primary care, tertiary care, and long-term care in areas of medicine, surgery, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, oncology, dentistry, and geriatrics. Asheville is a teaching hospital, providing a full range of patient care services, with state-of-the-art technology and programs in education and research. Special programs include a Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) program, and a Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (SARRTP). The medical center is located within the VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6)."
Charles George VA Medical Center
The Charles George VA Medical Center, another element of the health care system available to veterans Living in (or near) Asheville, North Carolina.
