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North Carolina Health News
Could tending to Rockingham County’s health needs provide a prescription for other rural NC counties?
Rockingham County struggles with the same health issues that plague most of the state’s rural communities. Residents suffer from high rates of diabetes and other chronic conditions. There aren’t enough local providers to ensure equitable access to care. The population is aging. During a recent discussion at Rockingham...
Food is a big deal at the NC State Fair. Dozens of inspectors are tasked with keeping it safe.
People go to the annual North Carolina State Fair for all kinds of reasons. It might be the topsy-turvy rides. Or perhaps the Village of Yesteryear and the antique farm machinery. Often, though, the food is a major attraction. Maybe it’s the Ostrich Smashburger or the Politician Fries — full...
A clearer picture is emerging of the impact of North Carolina’s new abortion restrictions
Patients, health care providers and clinics were thrust into a new era of reproductive health care access on July 1 when the state’s increased abortion restrictions took effect. The new North Carolina law limits most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy and requires two in-person appointments for anyone seeking...
Child care advocates disappointed in NC budget
The North Carolina budget that passed last month brought disappointment for child care providers and advocates who were hoping that lawmakers would extend a state child care grant that kept child care centers afloat during the pandemic. A $300 million extension was proposed through June 2025 for the portion of...
Alcoa’s legacy haunts West Badin: community continues push for a cleaner future
Valerie Tyson was the first member of Concerned Citizens of West Badin to address the crowd gathered in the park. “We are so thankful for each and every one of you for coming so far and showing love toward us, caring about our welfare, our health,” Tyson said. She...
State officials tout ‘once in a lifetime’ investment in North Carolina’s mental health services
Between federal COVID relief funds and the $1.4 billion sign-on bonus North Carolina received for expanding Medicaid, state lawmakers were able to make significant investments in mental health services in the latest state budget. Though state budget negotiations are done almost entirely behind the closed doors of the majority party...
Student organization delivers hope, support to hospitalized children
The idea formed when Jana Tagel-Din remembered the light in her mother’s eyes after seeing the flowers and cookies. Her mother was in the hospital — her second bout with cancer, this time stage 4 colon cancer. Tagel-Din remembers visits to the hospital as draining. But then she...
Will increased pay solve North Carolina’s home nursing shortage?
North Carolina does not have enough private duty nurses to provide home-based services to Medicaid participants with complex medical needs, creating a crisis for many working families who cannot single-handedly manage their loved ones’ care. The shortage is expected to worsen over the next decade. Demand for registered nurses...
Expanded prison medical release eligibility provides opportunity for more sick, aging incarcerated people to go home before they die
Three sisters feared their 64-year-old father, diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, would die in prison. One called Sandra Hardee, executive director of NC-CURE, a group advocating for people in prison, pleading for help. “I’ve got to get him out,” Hardee said the daughter told her through tears during a...
Suicide rates of teenage boys are skyrocketing because of firearm access
Suicide rates were 3.2 times higher for teenage boys than teen girls between 2018 and 2020 — with guns increasingly playing an outsize role. Boys and young men represent 80 percent of all youth suicide deaths, and 90 percent of all those who die by suicide using a firearm.
What happens to health programs if the federal government shuts down?
For the first time since 2019, congressional gridlock is poised to at least temporarily shut down big parts of the federal government — including many health programs. If it happens, some government functions would stop completely and some in part, while others wouldn’t be immediately affected — including Medicare, Medicaid, and health plans sold under the Affordable Care Act. But a shutdown could complicate the lives of everyone who interacts with any federal health program, as well as the people who work at the agencies administering them.
High Point University closer to welcoming students to the only private dental school in North Carolina
As Tropical Storm Ophelia showered the North Carolina Piedmont with a windy drizzle Saturday, dozens of people at High Point University gathered inside the Congdon Hall auditorium for an unusual ceremony. After several years of planning, campus leaders and guests were ready to break ground for the new Workman School...
Medicaid expansion for North Carolina will go into effect on Dec. 1
After being held up for months by the General Assembly’s protracted dispute over a state budget, Medicaid expansion is set to finally take effect in North Carolina on Dec. 1. The launch date was announced Monday by Gov. Roy Cooper, who called expansion a “monumental achievement” that will eventually...
State budget provision stymies local plastic reduction efforts in North Carolina
Environmental advocates across the state were shocked last week by the insertion of a provision in House Bill 259, now part of the 2023-24 state budget, that blocks local municipalities from establishing ordinances to reduce single-use plastic use. “Plastic waste is a scourge on our society on many levels,” said...
Understanding September’s asthma toll on children and communities of color
September is an exciting time for many, as summer’s long, hot days begin to give way to cooler temperatures and fall colors. Primary school and college students return to classes, and crowds pack high school bleachers and college stadiums on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons to cheer on their favorite fall sports teams, among other fun autumn activities.
State budget heavy on health care spending
Update Sept. 22: Gov. Roy Cooper announced Friday morning that he will let the budget become law without his signature, largely because it expands the Medicaid benefit to more than a half million people. “Make no mistake, overall this is a bad budget,” Cooper said. “However, we must recognize this irresponsible legislature’s decade of refusal to expand Medicaid, which has caused life and death situations for so many North Carolinians and threatened the very existence of numerous rural hospitals. I will not allow people who are crying for help to wait any longer…”
13 NC prisons working to make visitation spaces more child-friendly
When a child goes to visit an incarcerated parent, they have to navigate a complex maze. They’re shepherded past barbed wire fences and through locked doors. They watch their caregivers get patted down. They often walk down drab halls to sit in drab rooms with a parent who’s wearing a jumpsuit.
State budget deal finally comes together, creates path for Medicaid expansion
Statehouse leaders have finally announced a budget deal, which will fund the state and also allow for Medicaid expansion to go into effect in coming months. For weeks, leaders in the Senate and the House of Representatives tussled over the issue of adding legalization of casinos into the $30 billion state budget. Senate leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) was all in on the casino proposal, which would have won one of the four proposed casinos for his home in Rockingham County.
Unwinding update: 5 takeaways from NC’s latest Medicaid data
The expiration of a pandemic-era federal provision that prevented states from kicking Medicaid participants off the rolls has left North Carolina with the unprecedented challenge of reviewing the eligibility of more than 2.5 million residents. Known as the continuous coverage requirement, the mandate allowed beneficiaries to skip the renewal process...
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