Tears of Resolve – Not Defeat – in Western North Carolina

At Blue Cross NC, we talk a lot about North Carolina being one team, a diverse set of communities working together to address the challenges affecting all of us. After all, Blue Cross NC is the only truly local health plan in NC and has been for 90 years. We’ve seen this unified approach across the state during our Extra Miles Tour, a listening tour of all 100 counties.

The one-team, local philosophy is essential to the region around Madison, Haywood, and Transylvania counties in beautiful Western North Carolina. Our most recent Extra Miles Tour stops illustrate everything that’s great about the people of our state, especially in how they react when life doesn’t go as we plan.

In the last several years alone, the three counties we recently visited were hit with a series of devastating events: flooding killed six people and caused widespread damage after Tropical Storm Fred rolled through the area; hackers launched a cyberattack on the school system; and a major employer shut down, with the final workday coincidentally occurring during our visit. Add the COVID-19 pandemic and that’s a recipe for testing human endurance.

Given this sequence of tragedies, expanding access to mental health care in the region is a shared priority for local leaders, health care providers, and Blue Cross NC. There is ample research showing that the kind of life-changing events that have befallen these counties can cause anxiety and depression in even the most optimistic among us. Feelings of hopelessness are a natural human reaction to bad news, and those feelings can cause or accelerate substance use disorders.???

The area’s economic challenges – and their downstream effects on the health and well-being of an entire region – are top-of-mind for everyone. ??

·??????In Madison County, we heard from local government leaders at the Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School, a nationally registered historic schoolhouse built in 1928 to serve Black children. We heard that access to child care is a major problem in Madison County, with few affordable options for many families. Transportation is also a challenge, with no meaningful public transportation available for people needing to commute to work.

·??????From there, we traveled to Haywood Community College to hear about the school’s efforts to fortify early childhood services in the region and expand workforce development options. Indeed, the link between early childhood and workforce development is undeniable, with families often struggling to balance child care duties with work obligations. Too often, parents end up leaving the workforce to care for their children.

·??????At dinner that evening, we heard from Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers, who shared his heartfelt thoughts on the eve of the closure of the Pactiv Evergreen paper mill, the town’s largest employer since 1908. He estimated that the unemployment rate would rise from 3% to nearly 10% overnight, with hundreds losing their jobs. The impact of the mill closure will be felt all through the region, with many millions of dollars no longer powering the local economy.

But Mayor Smathers’ comments were no eulogy. He painted a portrait of a community that has a long history of incredible resilience in response to tragedy. “I’m going to take my three-year-old son to the mill tomorrow so he can hear the whistle blow for the very last time,” he said. “He won’t remember that whistle blowing or the stream of mill workers filing out with tears in their eyes. But he’ll remember how this town came together to respond to this adversity, how we emerged even stronger.”

His thoughtful words amid what is unquestionably a sad occasion for Haywood County and the surrounding area were inspiring. Mayor Smathers embodies the spirit that has helped these communities rebound after every setback, pulling together to emerge stronger and better prepared for tomorrow.

·??????Naturally, a good portion of the public response to the mill closure has focused on planning an economic rebound. Our conversations in Transylvania County only served to magnify the magnitude of the mill closure and the capacity of the community to collaborate toward solutions. At Brevard College, we heard from community leaders about how the closure will impact this neighboring county. Once again, it was not a plea for pity – it was a call to action. These leaders have been working to prepare to meet the needs of families, with economic development plans already being implemented. The simple fact that leaders in a neighboring county are taking action speaks to the One Team mentality of North Carolinians.

What particularly impressed me was how leaders are just as focused on mental health care. Health care – particularly for mental health – will be crucial to the thousands of families affected by the mill closure. In a region already strained by substance use disorder, access to mental health services will be more important than ever. Options like telehealth are vital to meeting mental health needs in areas underserved by providers. ?

Increasing provider availability doesn’t necessarily help the workers who’ve lost their insurance coverage with the layoffs. That’s why Blue Cross NC President and CEO Tunde Sotunde pledged the company’s support to Madison, Haywood, and Transylvania counties and all our neighbors in Western North Carolina. As he explained, we are all one team, working together toward our shared vision for a better, healthier state. We’ve hosted community events to help mill workers navigate their health care options, and Blue Cross NC staff are already working on plans to help with the area’s transition to the next chapter in the history of these proud and resilient communities.

As our Extra Miles Tour enters its home stretch, we are seeing a more comprehensive picture of our state’s differing counties, cities, and towns. Seeing firsthand the vast diversity of North Carolinians has been awe-inspiring: different ethnicities, genders, skills, opinions, occupations, even variations of accents. It is this diversity that fuels our collective resilience.

Blue Cross NC is proud to serve North Carolina and we are committed to remaining a reliable community partner. We share in the anguish of our neighbors in Western North Carolina, but we also share their determination to turn what looks like a defeat into the launch point for a better, stronger future.