It's no secret, most of us would like to stay in our own home as we age. Yet, sometimes our loved ones just need a little extra help to remain comfortable at home. That's where Always Best Care can help....we are dedicated to exceeding expectations....always
They say that your golden years are the best years of your life. For most older Americans, that's how it should be - a time to relax, reflect, and live life in a familiar place. After all, senior citizens in the U.S. have worked tirelessly to build a better economy, serve their communities, and raise families.
Unfortunately, many older Americans aren't able to rely on their adult children for help. The reality in today's world is that family members do not have the skills or time to dedicate to caring for their parents. That's where Always Best Care Senior Services comes in.
Our in-home care services are for people who prefer to stay at home as they grow older but need ongoing care that family or friends cannot provide. More and more older adults prefer to live far away from long-term, institutionalized facilities and closer to the place where they feel most comfortable - their home. Home care in Mooresville, NC is a safe, effective way to give your loved ones the care they need when they need it the most.
Home Care Services
Service AreasSince 1996, Always Best Care has provided non-medical in-home care for seniors to help them maintain a healthy lifestyle as they get older. We are proud to have helped more than 25,000 seniors maintain higher levels of dignity and respect. We focus on providing seniors with the highest level of in-home care available so that they may live happily and independently.
Unlike some senior care companies, we genuinely want to be included in our clients' lives. We believe that personalized care is always the better option over a "one size fits all" approach. To make sure our senior clients receive the best care possible, we pair them with compassionate caregivers who understand their unique needs. That way, they may provide care accordingly without compromising their wellbeing.
The Always Best Care difference lies in life's little moments - where compassionate care and trustworthy experience come together to help seniors live a fruitful, healthy life. Whether you are an aging adult that can't quite keep up with life's daily tasks or the child of a senior who needs regular in-home services, Always Best Care is here to help.
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Home is where the heart is. While that saying can sound a tad cliche, it is especially true for many seniors living in America. When given a choice, older adults most often prefer to grow older at home. An AARP study found that three out of four adults over the age of 50 want to stay in their homes and communities as they age.
When you begin to think about why, it makes sense. Home offers a sense of security, comfort, and familiarity.
The truth is, as we age, we begin to rely on others for help. When a family is too busy or lives too far away to fulfill this role, in-home senior care is often the best solution. Home care services allow seniors to enjoy personal independence while also receiving trustworthy assistance from a trained caregiver.
At Always Best Care, we offer a comprehensive range of home care services to help seniors stay healthy while they get the help they need to remain independent. As your senior loved one gets older, giving them the gift of senior care is one of the best ways to show your love, even if you live far away.
To give our senior clients the best care possible, we offer a full spectrum of in-home care services:
If your senior loved one has specific care needs, our personal care services are a great choice to consider. Personal care includes the standard caregiving duties associated with companion care and includes help with tasks such as dressing and grooming. Personal care can also help individuals with chronic conditions like diabetes.
Common personal care services include assistance with:
Sometimes, seniors need helpful reminders to maintain a high quality of life at home. If you or your senior has trouble with everyday tasks like cooking, our home helper services will be very beneficial.
Common home helper care services include assistance with:
Using this kind of care is a fantastic way to make life easier for you or your senior loved one. At Always Best Care, our talented caregivers often fill the role of a companion for seniors.
Common companionship services include:
According to AARP, more than 53 million adults living in the U.S. provide care to someone over 50 years old. Unfortunately, these caregivers experience stress, exhaustion, and even depression. Our respite care services help family caregivers address urgent obligations, spend time with their children, and enjoy nearby activities. Perhaps more importantly, respite care gives family members time to recharge and regroup. Taking personal time to de-stress reduces the risk of caregiver burnout. Doing so is great for both you and your loved one.
At the end of the day, our goal is to become a valuable part of your senior's daily routine. That way, we may help give them the highest quality of life possible. We know that staying at home is important for your loved one, and we are here to help make sure that is possible.
If you have been on the fence about non-medical home care, there has never been a better time than now to give your senior the care, assistance, and companionship they deserve.
Always Best Care in-home services are for older adults who prefer to stay at home but need ongoing care that friends and family cannot provide. In-home care is a safe, effective way for seniors to age gracefully in a familiar place and live independent, non-institutionalized lives. The benefits of non-medical home care are numerous. Here are just a few reasons to consider senior care services from Always Best Care:
According to AARP, 9 out of 10 seniors prefer to age in place within the comfort of their own home. With in-home care, seniors have a way to stay at home, receive the care they need, and maintain a sense of independence, improving overall wellness.
If you or a member of your family have assumed the role of caregiver for your senior loved one, you know how stressful the job can be. Between caregiver burnout and constant worry, being a family caregiver is hard. In-home care relieves your burden and gives you peace of mind knowing that your older family member is in expert hands.
Unlike nursing homes, where the staff and residents rotate frequently, seniors can foster new friendships and build bonds with their caregiver. Seniors who socialize on a regular basis are often happier, which fosters positivity and leads to increased wellbeing.
No two seniors need the same kind of in-home care assistance. That is why each of our Care Plans is tailored to meet our client's individual needs. We offer plans that cover everything from light housekeeping to more involved duties like transportation to doctor's appointments. Our Care Coordinators will work closely with you to develop a personalized plan to ensure your senior's needs are exceeded.
Always Best Care offers a full array of care options for patients at all levels of health. With our trusted elderly care services, your loved one will receive the level of care necessary for them to enjoy the highest possible quality of life.
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While it's true that some seniors have complicated medical needs that prevent them from staying at home, aging in place is often the best arrangement for seniors and their families. With a trusted caregiver, seniors have the opportunity to live with a sense of dignity and do so as they see fit - something that is unavailable to many older people today.
In-home care makes it possible for millions of seniors to age in place every year. Rather than moving to a strange nursing home, seniors have the chance to stay at home where they feel the happiest and most comfortable.
How much does a senior's home truly mean to them?
A study published by the American Society on Aging found that more than half of seniors say their home's emotional value means more than how much their home is worth in monetary value. It stands to reason, then, that a senior's home is where they want to grow old.
With the help of elderly care in Mooresville, NC, seniors don't have to age in a sterilized care facility. Instead, they can age gracefully in the place they want to be most: their home. In contrast, seniors who move to a long-term care facility must adapt to new environments, new people, and new systems that the facility implements. At this stage in life, this kind of drastic change can be more harmful than helpful.
Institutional care facilities like nursing homes often put large groups of people together to live in one location. On any given day, dozens of staff members and caregivers run in and out of these facilities. Being around so many new people in a relatively small living environment can be dangerous for a seniors' health and wellbeing. When you consider that thousands of seniors passed away in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, opting for in-home care is often a safer, healthier choice for seniors.
Aging in place has been shown to improve seniors' quality of life, which helps boost physical health and also helps insulate them from viral and bacterial risks found in elderly living facilities.
For many seniors, the ability to live independently with assistance from a caregiver is a priceless option. With in-home care, seniors experience a higher level of independence and freedom - much more so than in other settings like a nursing home. When a senior has the chance to age in place, they get to live life on their own terms, inside the house that they helped make into a home. More independence means more control over their personal lives, too, which leads to increased levels of fulfillment, happiness, and personal gratification. Over time, these positive feelings can manifest into a healthier, longer life.
More independence, a healthier life, and increased comfort are only a few benefits of aging in place. You have to take into consideration the role of cost and convenience. Simply put, it's usually easier and more affordable to help seniors age in place than it is to move them into an institutional care facility. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, seniors who age in the comfort of their homes can save thousands of dollars per month.
In-home care services from Always Best Care, for instance, are often less expensive than long-term solutions, which can cost upwards of six figures per year. To make matters worse, many residential care facilities are reluctant to accept long-term care insurance and other types of payment assistance.
With Always Best Care's home care services, seniors and their families have a greater level of control over their care plans. In-home care gives seniors the chance to form a bond with a trusted caregiver and also receive unmatched care that is catered to their needs. In long-term care facilities, seniors and their loved ones have much less control over their care plan and have less of a say in who provides their care.
In-home care is a valuable resource that empowers seniors to age in place on their own terms. However, a big concern for many families and their loved ones is how much in-home care costs. If you're worried that in-home care is too expensive, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that it is one of the most affordable senior care arrangements available.
Typically, hiring an Always Best Care in-home caregiver for a few hours a week is more affordable than sending your loved one to a long-term care facility. This is true even for seniors with more complex care needs.
At Always Best Care, we will work closely with you and your family to develop a Care Plan that not only meets your care needs, but your budget requirements, too. Once we discover the level of care that you or your senior need, we develop an in-home care plan that you can afford.
In addition to our flexible care options, families should also consider the following resources to help offset potential home care costs:
When you or your senior loved one needs assistance managing daily tasks at home, finding a qualified caregiver can be challenging. It takes a special kind of person to provide reliable care for your senior loved one. However, a caregiver's role involves more than meal preparation and medication reminders. Many seniors rely on their caregivers for companionship, too.
Our companion care services give seniors the chance to socialize in a safe environment and engage in activities at home. These important efforts boost morale and provide much-needed relief from repetitive daily routines. A one-on-one, engaging conversation can sharpen seniors' minds and give them something in which to be excited.
At Always Best Care, we only hire care providers that we would trust to care for our own loved ones. Our senior caregivers in Mooresville, NC understand how important it is to listen and communicate with their seniors. A seemingly small interaction, like a short hug goodbye, can make a major difference in a senior's day. Instead of battling against feelings of isolation, seniors begin to look forward to seeing their caregiver each week.
Understanding the nuances of senior care is just one of the reasons why our care providers are so great at their job.
Unlike some senior care companies, our caregivers must undergo extensive training before they work for Always Best Care. In addition, our caregivers receive ongoing training throughout the year. This training ensures that their standard of care matches up to the high standards we've come to expect. During this training, they will brush up on their communication skills, safety awareness, and symptom spotting. That way, your loved one receives the highest level of non-medical home care from day one.
While it's true that many seniors prefer to age at home, sometimes in-home care isn't the best fit. For those seniors and their families, choosing an assisted living facility makes more sense. Unfortunately, finding the optimal care facility is easier said than done in today's day and age. That's when Always Best Care's assisted living referral services begin to make a lot of sense.
Assisted living is a form of housing intended for seniors who require varying degrees of medical and personal attention. Accommodations may include single rooms, apartments, or shared living arrangements. Assisted living communities are typically designed to resemble a home-like environment and are physically constructed to encourage the independence of residents.
At assisted living communities, seniors receive help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, and eating. They may also benefit from coordination of services with outside healthcare providers, and monitoring of resident activities to ensure their health, safety, and well-being. Caregivers who work at assisted living communities can also provide medication administration and personal care services for older adults.
Other services offered within assisted living communities can include some or all of the following:
At Always Best Care, our representatives can match your senior's emotional, physical, and financial needs with viable assisted living communities nearby. Results are based on comparative data, so you can select the best choice for you or your loved one.
Always Best Care works closely with local senior living communities to gain valuable knowledge that we then use to help seniors and their loved ones make informed decisions. This information can include basic care and rent, resident availability, and services provided. Because Always Best Care is compensated by these communities, we provide senior living referral services at no extra cost to you.
For many seniors, moving into a senior living community revolves around how and when they want to make a transition to more involved care. Some seniors are more proactive about transitioning to independent living. Others choose to remain home until their care needs or other requirements are satisfied. Remember - our staff is here to help. Contact our office today to learn more about assisted living communities and how we can find a facility that exceeds your expectations.
The first step in getting quality in-home care starts with a personal consultation with an experienced Always Best Care Care Coordinator. This initial consultation is crucial for our team to learn more about you or your elderly loved one to discover the level of care required. Topics of this consultation typically include:
A discussion of your needs and how our trained caregivers can offer assistance in the most effective way
A draft of your care plan, which includes highly detailed notes and a framework for the care that you or your senior will receive
Discuss payment options and help coordinate billing with your insurance provider
Our caregivers are trained to spot changes that clients exhibit, like mental and physical decline. As your trusted senior care company, we will constantly assess and update your Care Plan to meet any new emotional, intellectual, physical, and emotional needs.
If you have never considered in-home care before, we understand that you and your family may have concerns about your Care Plan and its Care Coordinator. To help give you peace of mind, know that every team member and caregiver must undergo comprehensive training before being assigned to a Care Plan.
At the end of the day, we only hire the best of the best at Always Best Care. Whether you need home care in Mooresville, NC 24-hours a day or only need a respite for a couple of hours, we are here to serve you.
When you're ready, we encourage you to contact your local Always Best Care representative to set up a Care Consultation. Our Care Coordinators would be happy to meet with you in person to get to know you better, discuss your needs, and help put together a personalized Care Plan specific to your needs.
This comes months after Novant Health originally announced it intended to acquire the Mooresville hospital.More VideosMOORESVILLE, N.C. — Duke Health announced Wednesday it plans to acquire Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in Mooresville, which would ma...
This comes months after Novant Health originally announced it intended to acquire the Mooresville hospital.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Duke Health announced Wednesday it plans to acquire Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in Mooresville, which would mark the health system's expansion into a new community.
In its announcement, Duke Health said it agreed to acquire LNRMC from Tennessee-based Community Health Systems in the first quarter of 2025. LNRMC includes a 123-bed acute-care hospital and offers 24-hour emergency care, labor and delivery services, cardiology, surgical and orthopedic care, and an outpatient imaging center.
“We recognize the health care landscape is changing,” said Craig Albanese, CEO of Duke University Health System. "While we continue to expand access to care within the communities we serve, it’s also time to do more and deliver care to more people – in more communities. We want to bring access to all that Duke Health has to offer to the Lake Norman community.”
“We know providers and team members are key to the success of any health system,” said Richard Shannon, DUHS senior vice president and chief medical officer. “We are eager to support LNRMC providers and employees in their mission to deliver exceptional care and an exceptional patient experience.”
If approved, the acquisition would be a major expansion for the Duke Health system outside of North Carolina's Triangle region.
Kaufman Hall served as the exclusive financial advisor for the transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approvals and standard closing conditions.
Duke Health's announcement comes roughly six months after Novant Health originally announced it planned to buy LNRMC along with Davis Regional Medical in Statesville. A federal judge greenlit the decision after the Federal Trade Commission had argued the deal would give Novant too much control of the health care market.
However, Business Today NC reported later in June 2024 that Novant abandoned its plans for both Davis Regional and LNRMC after subsidiaries of Community Health Systems said no. A statement Novant shared with the publication also lamented the opposition it faced from the FTC.
Duke Health has promised patients it will maintain the quality of healthcare they already see.
Duke Health, which operates internationally known Duke University Hospital in Durham, signed an asset purchase agr...
Duke Health, which operates internationally known Duke University Hospital in Durham, signed an asset purchase agreement to buy Lake Norman Regional Medical Center and related businesses in Mooresville in Iredell County.
The seller is Community Health Systems, a for-profit operator based in Franklin, Tennessee. Terms weren’t disclosed. Regulators still must approve the transaction.
Winston-Salem-based Novant Health had agreed to buy the Mooresville hospital, but canceled the $320 million purchase in July after opposition from the Federal Trade Commission. The agency argued that Novant’s deal was anticompetitive for the fast-growing, affluent market serving north Mecklenburg and southern Iredell counties.
That opened the door for Duke Health, which now plans to enter a region that is dominated by larger rivals Novant and Charlotte-based Atrium Health. Iredell Health is an independent, not-for-profit enterprise that operates a hospital in Statesville.
“We recognize the healthcare landscape is changing,” Duke University Health System CEO Craig Albanese said in a release. “While we continue to expand access to care within the communities we serve, it’s also time to do more and deliver care to more people – in more communities. We want to bring access to all that Duke Health has to offer to the Lake Norman community.”
Buying the 123-bed hospital represents a major strategy shift for Duke Health, which has focused on the Triangle area for generations. Atrium Health and Novant Health are dominant systems in the Charlotte and Triad metro areas and have grown larger than Duke Health over the past decade because of various acquisitions.
Atrium is part of Advocate Health, which has about $35 billion in annual revenue, Novant Health tops $10 billion. Duke Health had $6.8 billion in revenue in the fiscal year through June 30.
“LNRMC has a long history as a highly successful medical center, which we look forward to learning from as we develop relationships with team members, providers and the community and work together to serve Iredell County,” Albanese said.
Community Health Systems owns or leases 69 affiliated hospitals with more than 11,000 beds and operates more than 1,000 sites of care.
Kaufman Hall was the financial adviser to Duke Health.
Superior Glove, a Canadian producer of safety gloves and PPE equipment, is set to open its first American manufacturing plant in High Point.
The Ontario-based operation said it would start a 45,000-square-foot plant in April. The Gallimore Dairy Road site is expected to create more than 100 jobs in the next five years, according to a statement shared by the company.
This is not the only recent expansion effort from Superior Glove. Earlier this year, the company opened a 30,000-square-foot plant in central Newfoundland to meet increasing demand, according to CBC News.
Superior Glove has been manufacturing hand and arm protection since 1910. To meet the growing needs of customers, the company is expanding its production efforts into the U.S. The abundance of available land and quality workers in the Piedmont region made High Point a logical choice, President Tony Geng said in the statement.
“We’re eager to build lasting partnerships within the community,” he said
“Their investment further reinforces our community’s status as a premier location for advanced manufacturing companies that seek a highly skilled talent pool,” High Point Economic Development Director Peter Bishop said in the press release.
Company and city officials did not say if any incentives are helping facilitate Superior Glove’s expansion.
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke Health today announced that the health care system has signed an asset purchase agreement to acquire Lake Norman Regional Medical Center (LNRMC) and the related businesses, in Mooresville, N.C., from subsidiaries of Community Health Systems, Inc.“We recognize the health care landscape is changing,” Craig Albanese, chief executive officer of Duke University Health System (DUHS). “While we continue to expand access to care within the communities we serve, it’s also time to do more and deliver...
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke Health today announced that the health care system has signed an asset purchase agreement to acquire Lake Norman Regional Medical Center (LNRMC) and the related businesses, in Mooresville, N.C., from subsidiaries of Community Health Systems, Inc.
“We recognize the health care landscape is changing,” Craig Albanese, chief executive officer of Duke University Health System (DUHS). “While we continue to expand access to care within the communities we serve, it’s also time to do more and deliver care to more people – in more communities. We want to bring access to all that Duke Health has to offer to the Lake Norman community.”
With a projected closing in the first quarter of 2025, Duke’s acquisition of the 123-bed, acute-care hospital would represent a significant expansion of Duke Health clinical services outside the greater Triangle area.
While still early in the process, both organizations are proceeding with the necessary transition planning activities to ensure that patients have seamless access to their LNRMC providers, clinics and facilities.
LNRMC includes 24-hour emergency care, labor and delivery services, cardiology, surgical and orthopedic care and outpatient imaging center. The medical center employees and community physicians will continue to provide care and play a key role within the new organization.
“We know providers and team members are key to the success of any health system,” said Richard Shannon, DUHS senior vice president and chief medical officer. “We are eager to support LNRMC providers and employees in their mission to deliver exceptional care and an exceptional patient experience.”
Duke Health is a leading academic health system in North Carolina with a vision to improve health outcomes across the region by advancing clinical care, expanding the impact of groundbreaking discoveries, educating and training the next generation of providers and partnering with communities.
“We will further the Duke Health mission by meeting the evolving health needs of every community we serve in a compassionate, collaborative and cost-effective manner,” Shannon said.
“Our primary focus is on the well-being of our patients and the community,” Albanese said. “LNRMC has a long history as a highly successful medical center, which we look forward to learning from as we develop relationships with team members, providers and the community and work together to serve Iredell County.”
Kaufman Hall acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Duke Health. This transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
To learn more, visit https://www.dukehealth.org/lakenorman.
The small town of Carrboro, North Carolina is suing one of the country's largest electric utilities, Duke Energy, over climate change.While states and cities have filed lawsuits against big oil companies, suing utilities is less common. The arguments are similar though. Carrboro alleges Duke knew about climate change for over 50 years but continued to operate coal and gas power plants that spewed greenhouse gases. The lawsuit...
The small town of Carrboro, North Carolina is suing one of the country's largest electric utilities, Duke Energy, over climate change.
While states and cities have filed lawsuits against big oil companies, suing utilities is less common. The arguments are similar though. Carrboro alleges Duke knew about climate change for over 50 years but continued to operate coal and gas power plants that spewed greenhouse gases. The lawsuit also says Duke participated in campaigns to confuse the public about whether climate change was real to avoid stricter regulations.
Duke Energy is the third largest source of carbon dioxide in the country, according to an analysis from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. That puts it well ahead of ExxonMobil and Koch Industries. The utility has six coal-fired power plants in North Carolina.
"We need to protect our community from future harms and this is why we find ourselves here as a plaintiff in this lawsuit," Carrboro Mayor Barbara Foushee says.
Duke Energy says it is reviewing the lawsuit.
In a complaint filed in a North Carolina state court, Carrboro is asking a jury to award the town money for current and future losses because of climate change.
"Our community floods fairly regularly as a result of the supercharged storms that are dumping large amounts of precipitation in short periods of time," Foushee says. Hotter temperatures also create more road maintenance, and electric bills are higher in city buildings because they use more air conditioning, the complaint says.
The lawsuit does not request a specific dollar amount, but Foushee says Carrboro has started tallying climate-related costs. "We know that the town could incur up to $60 million in damages in the coming years," she says.
The complaint alleges that Duke Energy learned about the effects of climate change at a utility trade group meeting in 1968, 56 years ago.
"At that meeting there was discussion about carbon dioxide emissions and how they were harming the planet and the need to potentially take action," says Howard Crystal, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, who consulted on the case.
Instead of reducing its climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions, Duke worked with others to cast doubt over whether climate change was real, the town claims.
The lawsuit points to newspaper advertisements from an industry-funded group called "Information Council for the Environment." One full-page ad that ran in a Bowling Green, Kentucky newspaper in 1991 asked "How much are you willing to pay to solve a problem that may not exist?" It showed a sweating man carrying a large bag of money and then highlighted information that cast doubt over the climate getting warmer. Crystal says that created confusion for the public and forestalled action.
"If we'd actually invested early and substantially in the transition away from fossil fuels, we wouldn't be dealing with the incredible costs we're bearing constantly to address the climate disasters that are hitting us over and over again," Crystal says.
These days Duke Energy says it is "executing an ambitious clean energy transition" and has a goal of "net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050." That goal is in line with the landmark 2015 Paris climate agreement. Duke Energy serves 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. The company generates most of its electricity by burning fossil fuels, which is the main driver of planetary warming.
Attorneys filing this case for Carrboro say it is ground-breaking because it focuses on deception by a corporation and it targets utilities instead of oil companies. Still, experts who monitor climate litigation say they're not surprised to see it.
"We've known for a few years now that the utilities had a similar level of internal knowledge about the dangers of climate change and the connection of their activities to increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," says Doug Kysar, a law professor at Yale University.
Another reason Kysar says he's unsurprised: states and cities are looking for ways to pay for the extra costs of climate change.
Earlier federal cases were not successful in the courts, because they focused on emissions from coal-fired electric power plants. Kysar says courts determined that "interfered with the Environmental Protection Agency's authority," and some judges thought the issue would be "better addressed by the other branches of government."
"And so the more recent wave of lawsuits are really centering the deceptive and manipulative conduct of the defendants, because that's a better fit with areas of traditional state law," Kysar says.
Still, Kysar thinks bringing lawsuits against utilities before a jury could be more difficult than those against oil companies, because the two have different reputations. He says oil companies often are viewed by the public as "very powerful, very wealthy and increasingly somewhat manipulative and untrustworthy actors."
Utilities like Duke Energy "are heavily regulated by public utility commissions" and don't have quite as negative a reputation.
"We all have a bill that we pay to those electric providers every month and many of them are cooperatives," Kysar says. But if cases like this one start to succeed, he says that could change people's views of utilities.
Correcting public perception is part of Carrboro's goal. Mayor Foushee says beyond a monetary settlement, it's important to get acknowledgement that Duke Energy's climate pollution is harming her town.
"Somebody has to speak truth to power about this issue with Duke Energy Corporation and so it is us," Foushee says.
WBTV Investigation raises questions about whether the town followed state law governing leave requests from elected officialsMOORESVILLE, N.C. (WBTV) - Mooresville Mayor Chris Carney had been on a leave of absence from his elected position since Oct. 21, WBTV has learned.The mayor appeared during the pre-agenda meeting for commissioners Tuesday morning after WBTV started asking questions about his leave request.The mayor’s leave was announced during a town council meeting, raising questions about whether the town...
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (WBTV) - Mooresville Mayor Chris Carney had been on a leave of absence from his elected position since Oct. 21, WBTV has learned.
The mayor appeared during the pre-agenda meeting for commissioners Tuesday morning after WBTV started asking questions about his leave request.
The mayor’s leave was announced during a town council meeting, raising questions about whether the town followed state law governing leave requests from elected officials.
A spokesperson for the Town of Mooresville confirmed that Carney “decided to take a medical leave of absence to address current health issues. He will return as soon as he’s able.” Tuesday morning, he appeared at a meeting and said his leave “was abrupt.” He said his father had been in a coma and is likely to pass in the next day or so.
Carney also said his mental health was suffering, and he apologized to another person in the room for a heated argument they previously had. He now says he‘s feeling the best he’s felt and his wife and him are “doing wonderfully.”
North Carolina law outlines a process for an elected municipal official to take a leave of absence. According to the law, Carney would need to file an application and receive “approval” or “consent” from the board.
But according to University of North Carolina - Greensboro professor Hunter Bacot, who studies municipal law and administration, the vague language of the statute leaves a lot of wiggle room for interpretation.
“It is kind of nebulous and open ended because it asks for the ‘consent’ of the board,” Bacot said. “That’s not specified.”
The board never voted on Mayor Carney’s leave during any public session since Carney’s absence.
Bacot said the statute is so ambiguous there are numerous ways the leave could be approved. However, Bacot said good policy for granting leave would be conducting everything in public, including approval of the request.
“I think the intent of the legislation is to have the mayor request to leave of absence due to medical reasons, not have to specify that, and that be presented at a council meeting,” Bacot said. “And the council approve it.”
Mayor Carney’s sudden leave of absence came as a surprise at the commission meeting on Oct. 21. Mayor Pro Tem Eddie Dingler assumed the center seat at the beginning of the meeting and announced, “as you can see, the mayor is not with us tonight.”
Dingler then read a statement announcing Mayor Carney’s leave, indicating the mayor has faced “a number of challenges” over the past few months including the sudden death of a family friend and his father’s placement in hospice care.
There was no follow-up discussion or vote from the board to approve the mayor’s leave. North Carolina statutes prohibit boards from discussing personnel matters involving other elected members in closed session.
After the publication of this story, a town spokesperson emailed WBTV a response claiming the town followed a different set of procedures for the mayor’s leave.
“The statute referenced that utilizes an application to request a leave of absence is one potential method for initiating this process, but not mandatory,” The spokesperson wrote.
“In this case, the Town followed its charter that provides that the Mayor Pro Tempore presides in the Mayor’s absence and the Mayor communicated to the Board that he was taking a leave of absence. Here is the applicable section for reference.”
Sec. 3.3. - Mayor Pro Tempore.
The Board of Commissioners shall choose one of its number to act as Mayor Pro Tempore, and he shall perform the duties of the Mayor in the Mayor’s absence or disability. The Mayor Pro Tempore as such shall have no fixed term of office, but shall serve in such capacity at the pleasure of the remaining members of the Board.
It’s unclear whether Carney received any payment or reimbursement from the town since his leave was made public. Officials on leave are barred by law from receiving their salary during that period unless the leave is “is granted by reason of protracted illness.”
WBTV emailed Mayor Carney, Town Manager Tracey Jerome and Town Attorney Sharon Crawford Monday morning. None of the town officials responded.
Questions WBTV asked about whether Carney was still receiving payment and if the town was following state law governing the absence of an elected official were also not answered.
The last time an elected official’s absence became noteworthy news was in 2022, when the late Ella Scarborough took a leave of absence from the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners after she had missed months of meetings. At the time, County Manager Dena Diorio admitted county leadership did not know about the statute that required commissioners to approve Scarborough’s leave request. County commissioners eventually voted to approve the leave and later appoint a different commissioner.
Read the statement on Mayor Chis Carney’s leave of absence read at the Oct. 21 board meeting.
“First of all, I just like to say, Mayor Chris Carney is not here to see you this evening. Over the past several months, he’s faced a number of challenges, including a sudden death of a very close family friend and is, his father’s illness. At this time his dad is actually under hospice care. As we all can imagine, his physical and mental health has suffered a little bit from this. The mayor has decided to take a medical leave of absence to address his current health issues. He is committed to his public service role, but realizes that his health and well-being of his family must come first. Right now. Chris is getting the help he needs from the support of health care team, so they may return as soon as he’s able to, we as the board wish him a speedy recovery and ask that you respect his privacy during this challenging time.”
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