 By 1940, there were five small general hospitals in the city, but medical professionals had begun to see the need for a major medical center for western North Carolina.In 1947, Mission Hospital merged with Clarence Barker Memorial Hospital (at that time known as Biltmore Hospital), which was established by the All Soul's Parish in 1896 and constructed on land donated by George Vanderbilt and became Memorial Mission Hospital.Over time, Memorial Mission Hospital absorbed Victoria Hospital (formerly called Norburn Hospital, founded in 1928) and the Asheville Colored Hospital (founded in 1943).