Dogwood Health Trust Appoints Community Equity Officer
Rasheeda Hall joins Dogwood from a longstanding career as a social worker with Buncombe County.
The mission of Dogwood Health Trust, which was established as part of the purchase of Mission Health System by HCA Corporation, is to “dramatically improve the health and wellbeing of all people and communities of Western North Carolina, grounded in a deep commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”
The organization, which serves 18 WNC counties and the Qualla Boundary (Cherokee), received an original endowment of $1.5 billion from HCA as part of its takeover of Mission Health. In addition to Health & Wellness, the trust funds programs in education, housing, economic opportunity through community-focused strategic investments that are designed to lead to long-term, systemic change in the lives of the region’s residents.
Ms. Hall joins Dogwood from a longstanding career as a social worker with Buncombe County. Her work involved supporting children and families, addressing local health disparities, providing food access to under-resourced neighborhoods, community crisis response work, and equity/inclusion-focused practices.
According to Ms. Hall, one of the most rewarding aspects of that work was its community engagement. She considers it critical that service providers actively work to establish and maintain trusting relationships within the communities they serve, to ensure community access to resources and achieve better outcomes for individuals, families, and neighborhoods.
This understanding led Hall to create and implement the county’s Community Service Navigation Program, connecting community residents to various health and human services and providing them with fresh, nutritional food. The program created a direct pipeline to services and increased the level of engagement between providers and residents. As Community Development Manager, she led the Community Engagement Team, leaving a legacy of impactful work.
Ms. Hall earned two bachelor’s degrees, in biology and social work, from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; she then took her MSW from Temple University.
