Hospitals

Angel Medical Center

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Angel Medical Center
120 Riverview St.
Franklin, NC 28734
(828) 524-8411

Asheville Specialty Hospital
428 Biltmore Ave. 4th Floor

Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 213-5400


Blue Ridge Regional Hospital
125 Hospital Drive
Spruce Pine, NC 28777
(828) 765-4201

CarePartners
68 Sweeten Creek Road
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 277-4800

Highlands-Cashiers Hospital
190 Hospital Drive
Highlands, NC 28741
(828) 526-1200

Angel Medical Center's mission of providing healthcare to the community can be traced back to 1923 when Dr. Furman Angel returned home to set up a clinic in some rooms on the second floor of the old Cunningham Building, in historic downtown Franklin, North Carolina.

To further the cause, in 1924 he purchased the Cope Elias house located on the present hospital grounds and started Angel Hospital. The Cope Elias house served as the hospital until 1926 when a new hospital building was completed. Subsequently, the Cope Elias house served as a residence for nurses until it was destroyed by fire several years later. The growth and demand for hospital services was so intense in 1927 that a new wing was added to the hospital.

Dr. Edgar Angel ("Ed"), Furman's younger brother, joined the staff of the hospital in 1932 and the name was changed to Angel Brothers Hospital. In 1940, the hospital underwent several additions and enhancements including the purchase of the hospital by Ed who incorporated and changed the name to Angel Hospital, Inc. In 1956, the hospital was again enlarged making it a 56-bed hospital.

Before his death in January 1966, Ed recognized the need for a new facility and that a community effort was necessary to obtain government funding. He began the process of selling the hospital to the community, an undertaking that was not completed until after his death. The Angel family donated a portion of the value of the hospital, the A.B. Slagle estate generously gave the hospital the land now known as Mill Creek and the community raised the remainder of the funds through donations to purchase the hospital from the Angel family.

The community raised over $1 million in a project known as "Operation Heartbeat" to provide matching funds for federal government grants and Hill-Burton loans. The hospital was then incorporated as a nonprofit organization with a self-perpetuating board of trustees under the name of Angel Community Hospital in November 1967.

The new addition to the existing hospital cost approximately $6 million to construct and was opened in 1974. The new building provided a total of 80 beds -- 59 inpatient beds and 21 psychiatric beds.

Over the years, there have been numerous changes and additions to the hospital to update the buildings and remain current with technology. In 1991, a new two-story building was added to the back of the hospital to house the surgical suite and the intensive care unit. The front of the hospital was renovated in 1996 with a new addition to provide needed space for the business office, medical records, cafeteria, laboratory and administration.

In 1998, more space was added to the back of the hospital to accommodate the growing demand for outpatient medicine, same-day surgery and surgical areas of the hospital. The emergency department moved into a new addition in the back of the hospital, and the radiology department was moved to the former emergency area that was renovated as part of the addition during 2002.

The name of the hospital was changed to Angel Medical Center, Inc. in 1996 to recognize the progress and accomplishments in healthcare that the hospital has made over the years. The doctors, staff and volunteers reflect our mission: "Dedicated professionals providing compassionate and superior healthcare to all."

Visitors are an important part of the healing process. We try to make visiting as easy and convenient as possible, but we also want to make sure each patient receives enough rest and privacy. There are special guidelines for visitors in each nursing department. Families will be given this information. Depending on the patient's condition, visitors may be asked to limit their time in the patient's room. If you have questions, please ask your nurse.

Patients may have one overnight guest stay with them in their room under most circumstances. A day bed is provided in each patient room to accommodate visitors and family members staying overnight.

Check Patient Status

Patients at Angel Medical Center choose whether they want to be listed in our directory and whether they want to receive calls while in the hospital. If a patient decides to be in the directory, then we can tell callers their room number, otherwise we do not provide any information about their condition.

If a patient does not choose to be listed in the directory, then we must tell anyone who calls for information that we have no listing of a patient of that name. This is determined by federal law designed to protect patient privacy.