After 35 years of providing health care to Transylvania County, Family Nurse Practitioner Carol Hoban is retiring from Brevard’s Frances Warde Family Health, a practice the family nurse practitioner headed for many years. Frances Warde Family Health will close on Sept. 30 when Hoban retires.
More than 36 years ago, Frances Warde Family Health opened to provide health care for people living in rural Rosman. The facility was named for Frances Warde, the first Sister of Mercy to come to the United States.
“Carol Hoban has been a tremendous asset to Transylvania County’s medically underserved population, and she will be greatly missed by all her patients and everyone at Mercy Urgent Care,” said Mercy’s Medical Director Elizabeth McCarty, M.D.
Originally from New Jersey, Hoban attended nursing school and then received a master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1972. While working in an administrative position, she encouraged others to seek out jobs that served unfilled needs within their community. When it came time for her to find another job, she decided to practice what she preached — reaching out to Dr. Gretchen Hermanny, who had just opened a small health care facility in rural North Carolina.
“I discovered they were in need of a nurse for Frances Warde Health Service, which was just opening, and thought I’d give North Carolina a try,” Hoban said. “Been more than 30 years, and I’m still just trying it out, as I never signed a contract!”
In 2011, Mercy Urgent Care acquired what is now known as Frances Warde Family Health and relocated the facility to Brevard. With more primary care options sprouting up in the Rosman area, the original goal to fill an unmet need for health care was complete. When Dr. Hermanny retired that same year, Hoban took over care for her patients at the relocated practice.
“For more than 30 years, Carol tirelessly served the needs of those in Transylvania County, many of whom otherwise might have gone without food and clothing, as well as health care,” said Tim Johnston, CEO of Mercy Urgent Care.
While the Frances Warde Family Health center is closing alongside Hoban’s retirement, Mercy Urgent Care Brevard will remain open and ready to assist patients in its streamlined facility, which underwent a renovation and expansion in April 2019
