MISSION HEALTH
Asheville Orthopedic Associates | 828-252-7331 | 310 Long Shoals Rd Suite 301, Arden, NC 28704
Dr. Pamela Meliski
Dr. Pamela Meliski is an orthopedic surgeon, who specializes in foot and ankle reconstruction. “My initial plan was to become a primary care physician, but I fell in love with the musculoskeletal system and its beautiful architecture,” she says. Originally from a small town in Vermont, Meliski came to Asheville, North Carolina at 17 to attend college at University of North Carolina Asheville, where she played on the women’s soccer team her entire four years. She attended medical school at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and graduated with highest honors. Then, she did her five-year residency at Wake Forest University. She completed her medical training by doing a one year Foot and Ankle Reconstruction fellowship at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore.
Thrilled to get the opportunity to return to Asheville to practice in 2009, Meliski provides surgical and nonsurgical management of foot and ankle problems, extending from athletic injuries, traumatic fractures, arthritis of the foot and ankle, and sequela from medical comorbidities. “I love creating a tangible product that directly helps patients achieve improved function, and an improved lifestyle,” she says. Meliski also loves creating relationships with her patients, and designed her clinics to provide the time for her to fully understand each patient’s issues and expectations. While this sometimes makes her run behind, Meliski feels it’s worth it to provide the best possible care to her patients. “I truly enjoy the journey that we share together and guiding them along the way.”
Mission Hospital | 828-213-1994 | 509 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801
Dr. Elaine Chan
Dr. Elaine Chan is an Acute Care Surgeon with Mission Hospital who found her love for medicine while volunteering in the emergency room. “Surgery was love at first sight,” she shares. Her specialties include trauma and emergency general surgery as well as surgical critical care. In her spare time, she works per diem at an inpatient hospice facility and also serves as the Clerkship Director for UNC’s Asheville cohort of third-year medical students.
Dr. Chan is a first-generation Asian American and the first in her family to graduate high school. She believes there is “no greater honor than being able to employ a unique skill set to help others who are less fortunate,” and attributes her success to her “ability to make spiritual connections, find and spread joy in the most unexpected places, and last, but not least, employ humor as a tool of medicine.” Although surgery is a demanding field, she encourages any woman to explore it as a career as it is infinitely more rewarding.
Hope Women’s Cancer Center | 828-670-8403 | 100 Ridgefield Ct, Asheville, NC 28816
Dr. Amy Alexander
Gynecologic oncologist Dr. Amy Alexander has wanted to be a doctor for as long as she can remember. “I was attracted to the field because it allowed me to take care of people while solving complicated problems,” she says of medicine. “I love getting to take care of women in all walks of life and develop long-term relationships with the women I care for.” Dr. Alexander earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard University, and after a few years working as a clinical research manager, she received her medical degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Pittsburgh, followed by a three-year subspecialty fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at Northwestern University in Chicago. There she learned minimally invasive, robotic, and other advanced gynecologic surgery skills and chemotherapy for treating all types of gynecologic cancer.
Now Dr. Alexander performs surgery for cervical cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, and vulvar cancer, as well as for complex benign gynecologic conditions such as large fibroids and endometriosis. During her career, Dr. Alexander has performed hundreds of robotic hysterectomies, and countless other surgeries for these conditions. “It is very satisfying for women to come to me with a problem that I can often make better either with surgery alone or a combination of surgery and chemotherapy,” she says. “I feel privileged in every operation that the patient has trusted me to perform her surgery. And while no surgeon is perfect, we work very hard to care for each patient like they are a member of our family and give them the best possible outcome.”
Mission Hospital | 828-213-1994 | 509 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801
Dr. Red Hoffman MD, ND, FACS
Acute Care Surgeon Dr. Red Hoffman describes her work as “a mix of trauma, emergency general surgery, and surgical critical care.” But she didn’t always plan to join the medical field. When Dr. Hoffman was 19 years old, her father was killed while on a business trip in Cairo, Egypt. Her subsequent health struggles led her to pursue training as a naturopathic doctor. While training, she found an interest in surgery and changed her education path.
“After 8 years of post-graduate medical training, I found the perfect job at Mission Hospital,” Dr. Hoffman says. Mission Hospital has allowed her to teach, lead, and more–all while continuingto operate. Dr. Hoffman is passionate about patient care. She runs Mission Hospital’s Inpatient Hospice program, co-founded the Surgical Palliative Care Society, and serves as Mission Hospital’s Associate Medical Director of Palliative Care. Beyond the hospital, she was recently chosen to speak at TEDx Asheville 2024, hosts the Surgical Palliative Care Podcast, and just launched her second podcast, The Surgical Soul with Red MD, a look into “the secret lives of surgeons, both inside and outside of the operating room.”
Mission Children’s Hospital | 828-213-1740 | 509 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801
Dr. Michelle Kiser
Pediatric Surgeon Dr. Michelle Kiser decided to work in healthcare because she “experienced, first hand, the effects of how disease and suffering in young people can change the course of their and their families’ lives, and how terrible it can feel to be unable to alleviate that suffering.” What sets pediatric medicine apart, she says, is that you don’t specialize in a part of the body: “Pediatric surgeons specialize in a population.”
Dr. Kiser is passionate about caring for people. When asked what she loves about the work she does, she says, “ I love love love the patients I take care of. I love interacting with families, and reassuring scared parents. I love explaining things and talking through how we will get through tough times. And I absolutely love being in the operating room, amongst a team of people devoted to one task, one person.” She also enjoys “the technical aspect, the problem solving, the art of surgery.”
Mission Surgery | 828-252-3366 Option 2 | 14 Medical Park Drive, Asheville, NC 28803
Dr. Lindsee McPhail
Dr. Lindsee McPhail is a fellowship-trained General Surgeon who focuses primarily on robotic assisted surgery. She received her education and training at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is an expert in abdominal wall reconstruction, which she says means “I fix lots of hernias,” as well as foregut issues, like heartburn, and soft tissue diseases–what she calls “lumps and bumps of the skin.”
Dr. McPhail was drawn to the surgical field from a young age. “My dad was a general surgeon,” she says. “It’s in my blood.” She is passionate about her job, and says, “I get to use my hands to help people physically get better. And I get to meet new people every day.” She understands the importance of her role in patients’ health journeys: “I’ve had my share of surgery so I understand how it can be scary and overwhelming.” Dr. McPhail is committed to providing expert care to every patient, and says, “I am incredibly proud to work with the people at Mission Hospital, in our clinic, and at the ASC. We have built one of the strongest robotic surgery programs in the Southeast. I can’t think of anywhere else you can go that provides more clinical expertise and skill than we have right here.”
Hope Women’s Cancer Center | 828-670-8403 | 100 Ridgefield Ct, Asheville, NC 28816
Dr. Ashley Case
Gynecologic Oncologist Dr. Ashley Case is a fellowship-trained physician surgeon that specializes in cancers of the female reproductive system including ovarian, uterine, cervical, vaginal and vulvar cancers. Interested in the science aspect of healthcare from a young age, Dr. Case fell in love with treating and caring for women with gynecologic cancers. “I appreciated walking a path with these women from diagnosis through treatment strategies,” she says of her patients, adding that her work allows her to understand the impact of cancer (and its treatment) on all aspects of a woman's life including future childbearing, sexuality, physical and emotional well-being. “I also love that my work allows for continuity of care as I treat women from diagnosis through surgery, treatment, and survivorship stages.”
An expert in complex laparoscopic and robotic surgery approaches in treating women’s cancers and complex benign conditions, Dr. Case is also trained in using genetic and genomic testing to help identify personalized cancer treatment options and measure cancer risks for patients. She enjoys that her work involves a comprehensive multidisciplinary team-approach to diagnosing and treating women’s cancers that allows for leading-edge care. Today, Dr. Case has been practicing gynecologic oncology in Asheville for 14 years at Hope Women’s Cancer Center.
Mission Cancer Specialists | 828-213-2430 | 21 Hospital Drive Asheville, NC, 28801
Dr. Sarah Sher
Board certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Sarah Sher comes from a long line of medical professionals. Having both a father and grandfather that were general surgeons, as well as a mother who was a nurse, Dr. Sher found an early interest in surgery. After completing her surgical training at Georgetown University, learning from the leaders in breast reconstruction, Sher came to Mission Hospital to focus primarily on mastectomy reconstruction. “I work very closely with our breast surgeons to offer both implant and microsurgical tissue-based reconstructions at the time of mastectomy,” she explains. “My goal for any woman going through cancer is to feel whole at the end of the procedure.” She also cares for patients who are interested in breast reduction and surgery after major weight loss.
Dr. Sher loves getting to work with her patients and finding creative ways to help them. “I am a problem-solver and a people person, and through plastic surgery I am able to satisfy both of those areas and continue to learn and really focus on delivering excellent care to our patients,” she explains. “There isn't a one size fits all scenario for everyone so helping each person through their journey is a gift.”