After the initial tension surrounding the 2021 sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center to Novant Health faded, onlookers were curious what would become of the $1.25 billion New Hanover Community Endowment that would spend the proceeds.
Even cynics seemed open to seeing things play out, and the public was patient–reverent, even–as it added board members and staff. Local nonprofit leaders didn’t dare speak ill of the most powerful group around.
The gloves are off now, after a series of public dustups have given critics fuel to try and intervene.
Leading them is a new nonprofit, Heal Our People’s Endowment (HOPE). The group wrote a letter to N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein last week requesting heightened oversight of the endowment, and launched a petition asking Stein for a public hearing and increased scrutiny of the board makeup and grant awards. The petition had more than 400 signatures as of Wednesday.
“We just feel like they’re way off course, and they need a correction,” said former Sen. Harper Peterson, chair of HOPE.
The group is positioning itself as a oversight board for the endowment. Peterson said a core goal is to ensure Stein and whomever else occupies the role of attorney general will enforce the doctrines that established the endowment. “We’re just reminding him to not ignore his ongoing responsibility,” he said of Stein.
As senator, Peterson submitted a complaint to Stein in 2019 alleging that the county’s deal to sell the hospital was predetermined–a claim local officials deny, and have said Peterson cannot prove. Nothing came of the accusations.
Peterson also circulated a petition to Stein just before the sale closed in 2021, urging him to require more transparency from the endowment.
HOPE’s social media takes over the same Facebook account of Save Our Hospital, a separate nonprofit that tried to stop the hospital sale by suing the county over a public records disagreement, and lost. The most recent letter from HOPE didn’t directly threaten litigation, but it was signed by two attorneys.
Community trust in the endowment began to fracture, the letter states, amid a reorganization of the endowment board last fall.
County commissioners added two new appointees in a 3-2 party-line vote, against the endowment chair’s recommendation to renew the terms for the original members. The new appointees, Republicans Woody White and Pat Kusek, were part of the original board that sold the hospital; their terms expired just after they voted in favor of the sale.
The non-renewal of Virginia Adams, a Black woman, was particularly problematic, said Democratic Commissioner Jonathan Barfield Jr. at the time–now all five county appointees are white.
The shakeup raised eyebrows: Preventing politicization was the reason the county insisted on the endowment being a private, rather than public, entity. The commission’s majority denied the move was political.
Stein, who is running for governor, said the reorganization was concerning, but didn’t intervene.
Also a source of contention: The largest pledge of the endowment’s sophomore grant cycle was $22 million for a new health-care training pipeline. HOPE argues this is effectively a rebate for Novant: “Given that the local Novant hospital nursing shortage partly stems from Novant’s own managerial decisions and considering Novant’s influence over so many endowment board appointments, this disproportionate expenditure raises serious concerns of a conflict of interest.”
Endowment chair Bill Cameron told WHQR in December that any boost to Novant is secondary to the initiative’s purpose. “Novant will benefit from this, without a question,” he said. “But that’s not the point. The point is that patients benefit.”
Then in February, endowment CEO and president William Buster abruptly resigned. He was pushed out, that much we can confirm, but endowment officials haven’t offered any public explanation about why. That move also ruffled many leaders in the Black community, who weighed in on social media with disapproval of the lack of transparency.
After new board member Kusek’s sudden and unexplained departure in March, the county quickly approved her replacement earlier this month, with no discussion. “That was telling for me. They don’t want to talk about the endowment,” Peterson said. “How dare they be above public purview. It’s just astonishing–stunning.”
After the sale, Peterson and other naysayers were relatively quiet. And the endowment, for the most part, had control of the narrative.
This latest move will test the endowment’s ability to withstand public scrutiny, while putting pressure on Stein, who has said he wants more power to oversee major hospital transactions.
So far, his office said they’re keeping “an eye on this issue.”
Catch up on an audio conversation on last week’s edition of The Dive here, or contact us with story ideas and feedback at wilmington@theassemblync.com
Ducking a Revolt
Leland leaders ditched their plans to hike property taxes 70 percent and are instead eyeing a 17 percent increase.
Town officials aimed to rip off the Band-aid all at once with the aggressive hike, which would have allowed them to fund raises, benefits, and long-overdue infrastructure and public service needs. Now, they’re planning to stagger meeting those needs over a multi-year period.
Nearly 500 residents showed up at town hall to fight the proposed increase last month. Some residents even made shirts, featuring an illustration of an angry mob holding pitchforks, a chainsaw and other household weapons. On social media, residents researched whether a recall election was plausible. (It wasn’t.)
At Tuesday’s budget meeting, Leland Mayor Brenda Bozeman threatened to pause the meeting due to an unruly audience.
Leland is home to a growing number of young families and retirees who have plenty of time on their hands to organize, study, and show up to three-hour-long meetings on a weekday. It’s clear they won’t tolerate a dramatic change to their tax bills without a fight.
–Johanna F. Still
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Around the Region
Cut Off: New Hanover County Schools announced it is freezing nearly all reimbursements that weren’t already approved, WHQR reports. The dramatic move comes amid a $20 million budget gap that leaders haven’t yet worked out.
Small Town: Two members of the Carolina Beach Planning Board had a business connection with a recent rezoning applicant, Port City Daily reports. But the ties didn’t require either member to recuse themselves from voting in favor of the rezoning.
Yellow Light: Brunswick County will soon slow down its development approval process, the Brunswick Beacon reports. The county will require a traffic impact report before, not after, big projects apply for the greenlight.
Near-Zero: On Wednesday, Federal officials announced the first-ever national drinking water limit for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The Associated Press reports utilities are worried about the cost of meeting the new standard.
Around the State
Jim Hunt’s Daughter Tries to Win In a New North Carolina
Rachel Hunt will have to navigate a state that is much different from when her father dominated.
When the State Comes for Your Estate
Medicaid was designed to provide healthcare for the poorest Americans. But after death, their relatives can be socked with massive bills.
Asheville Gets High On Mushroom Tourism
With 2,000 different varieties of fungi, the region is a forager’s paradise and a destination for “find dining.”
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