The Asheville Citizen-Times reported on the Buncombe County Department of Health’s ongoing attempt to grow capacity to meet the demands of a growing population of needy people. The article describes the expansion as “refreshing” in an age of budget cuts. The state requires county health departments to directly provide some services and either directly provide or arrange for the provision of others. Buncombe County is working to outsource inasmuch as possible. The provision of healthcare is an overreaching role of government in a free society, but “faciliting health care rather than providing it directly” conjures visions of waste.

Harris said the ultimate goal is to focus the department’s resources on “health promotion and disease prevention,” and to tackle problems such as obesity more comprehensively.