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Surgery Residency Program

Mountain Area Health Education Center
Asheville, NC
Continued AccreditationACGME #4403600420CommunityJ1J-1

Mountain Area Health Education Center is an ACGME-accredited community-based Surgery residency program in Asheville, NC. It has 5 PGY-1 positions per year and approximately 25 residents in training. It reports 7.7% IMG residents, J-1 visa sponsorship, and a PGY-1 salary of $60,349. MatchPath compiles this profile from ACGME, FREIDA, and NRMP public data; every field is free to view, with no account required.

Cross-validated from ACGME, FREIDA, NRMP & CMS, each field stamped with a verification date. How we source this.

Overview

Positions / year
5
25 residents · 25 approved
PGY-1 salary
$60.3k
IMG percentage
7.7%
x
Visa sponsorship
J-1
Apps : 1 spot
Match report pending
verified
Open vacancies
None listed
SOAP eligible
Yes
3023440C0

Accredited since 2016 · 5 years · Last ACGME review 2018

IMG Fit

IMG-friendliness score

IMG-Friendliness Score
Computed from visa policy, IMG % in roster, and accreditation status.

Application requirements

Step 1
Optional
Required to apply
Step 2 CK
Optional
Required to apply
COMLEX
DO applicants
Letters
3
Incl. faculty
Visa
J-1
Application service
ERAS
Main match

Verified Jun 2026 · how we source this

Match & Tracks

NRMP match trend

Match code
3023440C0
NRMP identifier
Match status
Active
SOAP eligible
Yes
via ERAS
MRM eligible
Yes
via ERAS

Listed in the NRMP directory as “Mountain AHEC-NC”.

View on NRMP Program Directory ↗

Verified Jun 2026 · how we source this

Training tracks

No tracks listed

No tracks recorded for this program yet. The categorical track is implied for most IM residencies.

Residents

Cohort composition

IMG
8%
x
US MD
69%
x
DO
23%
x
Women
50%
x

Verified Jun 2026 · how we source this

Affiliated medical schools

Medical schools affiliated with this program's sponsoring institution (FREIDA).

Resident roster

Resident roster — data pending

Resident roster ingest is still in progress. Names, medical schools, and country flags land with the next LinkedIn data refresh.

Schedule & Culture

Hours / week
72
Avg PGY-1 on duty
Max on-duty
24
Consecutive hours
Lecture hours
4
Protected didactic / week
Night float
Yes
PGY-1 rotation
Moonlighting
No
Outside work allowed
Faculty ratio
0.8
Full-time per resident
Days off / year
1
Avg PGY-1
Interviews / cycle
Slots offered
Preliminary positions
No
Offered by this program

Verified Jun 2026 · how we source this

Hospital & Location

Hospital quality

Non-Profit

Health-System Pharmacy Administration and Leadership (HSPAL) residents have the opportunity to gain experience and develop expertise in the provision of comprehensive pharmacy services including direct patient care services, leadership/administrative responsibilities, pharmacy operations, medication safety, quality improvement and scholarly endeavors. The first year of the program will primarily focus on direct patient care services with the goal to develop strong clinical and patient care skills. The second year will primarily focus on leadership and administrative skills. Candidates accepted into the two-year Mission Hospital Pharmacy Administrative Residency are graduate students simultaneously enrolled in the Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences with specialization in Health-System Pharmacy Program at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. The Master of Science program is administered through the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.

Star Rating
4 / 5
Overall hospital rating
Beds
763
Tertiary care
Care quality (CMS Care Compare)
Safety of care4 better · 4 same · 0 worse
Mortality2 better · 5 same · 0 worse
Readmission4 better · 7 same · 0 worse

Measures rated better / same / worse vs the US national average.

Reports 8 of 8 HCAHPS patient-experience measures. Reports 10 of 12 timely & effective care measures.

Leapfrog Safety GradeB
Industry Payments (2024)
Total
$10K
Research
$0
Payments
4

Top payer: Arjo Inc. ($8K)

Source: CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act) — drug/device-maker payments to this teaching hospital.

Facility volume (annual)
Admissions
40,839
ED visits
60,776
Inpatient surgeries
9,160
Outpatient surgeries
16,837
Births
2,965
Daily census
661
Full-time staff
4,821

Source: FREIDA facility profile.

Primary teaching site: Mission Hospital-Memorial Campus · Asheville, NC

Verified Jun 2026 · how we source this

Clinical sites

Mission Hospital-Memorial Campus

Primary
Asheville, NC763 beds

University of North Carolina Hospitals

Chapel Hill, NC

Haywood Regional Medical Center

Clyde, NC146 beds

Charles George VA Medical Center (Asheville)

Asheville, NC190 beds

Location

Purchasing power

~$3,214/mo
Estimated take-home after rent & state tax
Rent ~31.8% of pay
Take-home$3,214/mo
Rent (1BR)$1,601/mo
State tax$214/mo

Estimate: PGY-1 salary $60,349 minus a 1-bedroom median rent (Realtor.com) and 4.25% state income tax. Before federal taxes and other costs.

Livability

County figures for Buncombe County, North Carolina (US Census ACS).

State Income Tax
4.25%
Top marginal rate · 2025
Median Income
$70,578
−$8k vs US median
Avg Commute
21 min
US avg 27 min
Foreign-born share
County vs US average
Largest immigrant communities

County foreign-born residents by country of birth (ACS).

Median rent and walkability scores arrive with the Zillow and Walk Score data refresh.

People

Leadership

Courtney Sommer, MD, MPH

Program Director

Program Director

Amanda Espinel

Program Administrator

Coordinator

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Mountain Area Health Education Center located?
Mountain Area Health Education Center is located in Asheville, NC.
What type of program is Mountain Area Health Education Center?
Mountain Area Health Education Center is a community-based residency program.
Is Mountain Area Health Education Center ACGME-accredited?
Yes — Mountain Area Health Education Center holds continued ACGME accreditation.
How many residents are at Mountain Area Health Education Center?
Mountain Area Health Education Center has approximately 25 residents in training.
How much is rent near Mountain Area Health Education Center?
Median rent near Asheville, NC is ~$1,601/month for a 1BR and ~$1,710/month for a 2BR, based on a recent sample of Zillow and Realtor.com listings in the program's ZIP code.
Does Mountain Area Health Education Center accept International Medical Graduates (IMGs)?
Yes — 7.7% of Mountain Area Health Education Center's current residents are International Medical Graduates, as reported to FREIDA. This page also shows its visa sponsorship, reported Step 2 CK expectation, and PGY-1 salary. All of it is free to view, with no account needed.
Does Mountain Area Health Education Center sponsor J-1 or H-1B visas?
Mountain Area Health Education Center reports sponsoring J-1 visas. It does not currently report H-1B sponsorship. Sponsorship is set by the program and its sponsoring institution and can change between cycles, so confirm with the program before you apply.
What USMLE Step 2 CK score does Mountain Area Health Education Center require?
Mountain Area Health Education Center does not report a minimum USMLE Step 2 CK score, so MatchPath publishes no cutoff for this program — most programs do not publish one. Use its IMG percentage and the specialty's overall match data to gauge fit instead; both are on this page. All of it is free to view, with no account needed.
What is the resident salary at Mountain Area Health Education Center?
Mountain Area Health Education Center reports a PGY-1 salary of $60,349. Salary is set by the sponsoring institution and rises each training year through completion. This page also shows what that salary is worth locally, adjusted for state income tax and area rent. All of it is free to view, with no account needed.
How do I apply to Mountain Area Health Education Center?
US residency programs accept applications through ERAS and rank applicants through the NRMP Match. Applications open in the fall, interviews run through winter, and Match results release in March. Save Mountain Area Health Education Center to your MatchPath tracker to manage it across the cycle.
Does Mountain Area Health Education Center have unfilled or off-cycle positions?
Unfilled positions are offered through SOAP during Match week, and off-cycle vacancies can open year-round. MatchPath's Vacancies feed tracks open Surgery residency program positions as they appear.