Mission Health launches push to hire 50 techs in 50 days

Mission Health opened a 50-day hiring drive on July 2 aimed at filling 50 support jobs in imaging, sterile processing, respiratory therapy, surgical technology and pharmacy, roles that sit behind nearly every scan, procedure and inpatient medication order at Mission Hospital in Asheville.

The campaign, called 50 Techs in 50 Days, comes after Mission Health said it beat its earlier 90 Nurses in 90 Days goal ahead of schedule in early May. In that effort, the system said it added about 400 hires since January and took part in nearly 40 recruitment events over the previous three months.

Mission Health said the new push is part of a wider effort to strengthen staffing across Western North Carolina. The system is based in Asheville, operates six acute-care hospitals and one inpatient rehabilitation hospital, and says it is the largest employer in the region. Its network includes Mission Hospital, the flagship hospital in Asheville, where shortages in technical and support positions can ripple into imaging backlogs, surgical scheduling and pharmacy workflow.

The hiring campaign also sits alongside other workforce moves. In May, Mission Health said it invested more than $10 million in additional pay increases for a majority of colleagues, a step the system described as part of its effort to retain workers amid nationwide staffing pressure. On July 2, it also said 11 people graduated from its paid 12-week Medical Assistant Program, and nine accepted jobs across the system.

Mission Health has tried to frame recruitment as a long-term rebuild rather than a one-time fix. The system has said its workforce strategy includes both hiring and retention, with the immediate goal of keeping hospitals staffed enough to handle day-to-day demand across a region that relies heavily on Mission for emergency, inpatient and specialty care.

Mission Hospital also leans on its history as part of its identity. The hospital says its roots go back to 1885 and credits Anna Woodfin, Fanny Patton, Rose Chapman and Lily Carmichael with helping launch it. Today, Mission Health is betting that filling technical posts as quickly as possible will matter as much to patients as any high-profile nurse drive.