A WNC assisted living facility stopped paying its staff. Two remained to save 27 residents

A WNC assisted living facility stopped paying its staff. Two remained to save 27 residents 
BlueRidgeNow Times-News; by Will Hofmann; 8/6/25
By the time the sun rose on Aug. 2, Macie Vance knew nobody was coming to replace her. Vance had just finished the night shift at The Heritage of Sugar Mountain, a 40-bed assisted living facility in her hometown of Newland, where she worked as a resident care aide. The 20-year-old was at the "bottom of the food chain" in terms of office hierarchy, she said, but after weeks of staff resignations, Vance was one of just two remaining employees caring for Heritage’s 27 residents, some of whom were in hospice.