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North Carolina Health News
Crisis in children’s mental health takes a heavy toll in rural southeastern NC
This is the first in a two-part project about the children’s mental health crisis in Bladen, Columbus, Robeson and Scotland counties. Read the second story, which focuses on the foster care system, story here. A 9-year-old girl who spent four months last year inside the Columbus County hospital’s emergency...
As hospital systems begin to grapple with medical waste, environmentalists call for tighter regulations
Three years ago, Trenton Ford was excited to serve his community as a new parks employee. However, along the way, he started to notice something. “When I signed on to become an Alamance County Parks employee, I swore an oath to protect the environment and the people who live within [the county],” he said at a recent public meeting. “It is clear as day to see that there are billion-dollar corporations that are here, and they are making money hand over fist because of a lack of oversight and communication and involvement with local people.”
It’s time for municipal elections in N.C. What will new laws mean for disabled and older voters?
Many people across North Carolina are heading to the polls to vote early for municipal elections. Others are deciding to wait until the Nov. 7 election day to cast ballots in local elections for mayors, city councillors and school board members. Only 12 counties have no elections this year, according...
Throwing a financial lifeline to rural NC health care providers
In recent years, lawmakers in Raleigh have fretted about how to increase access to health care for North Carolina’s 3.5 million rural residents. They have traveled the state, holding hearings for residents and health care providers outside the urban and suburban regions. Providers from those areas have traveled to Raleigh, too, to testify at legislative hearings about staffing shortages and other critical issues plaguing their practices.
Webinar series focuses on protecting NC children
CONTENT WARNING: This article references suicide. Please take caution when reading. If you need immediate mental health support, please call or text 988. Consult this page for more resources. There’s a lot seared into Baker Burleson’s memory from the night in late 2021 when he took his son, William, to...
Savoring the crunch of an apple, carrot, other autumn fruits and vegetables amid the crush of everyday living
Trying to get wholesome food into young children might seem like an exhausting exercise for many parents and child care providers in today’s rush-rush world. After all, life can get hectic. Perhaps one child had to be dropped off at dance class and another needed to be rushed home...
50 doctors, including a former board member, publicly decry HCA’s management of Mission Hospital system
Fifty doctors, including a former member of the board of directors of Mission Hospital and a former chief of staff, have written a letter condemning what they say is HCA Healthcare’s “for-profit-driven” management after buying the nonprofit hospital system in 2019 for $1.5 billion. Dr. Robert Kline,...
Covid relief payments triggered feds to demand money back from Social Security recipients
As the nation reeled from covid-19, the federal government sent many Americans a financial lifeline. But some recipients say the covid relief payments have triggered financial distress by jeopardizing their Social Security benefits. The government has demanded they repay much larger amounts — thousands of dollars in benefits for the...
From outliers to luminaries: Warren County’s PCB protests get mainstream attention as more communities grapple with environmental justice issues made worse by climate change
The Autumn of 1982 was turbulent for Warren County, N.C., residents. Then-Gov. Jim Hunt decided to place a toxic waste landfill in the Afton community to house soil laced with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, that had been collected from sites where it was illegally dumped along a several-hundred-mile stretch of state roads.
Advocates, state officials work toward reforms to improve conditions for people working and residing in NC prisons
In the wake of the pandemic and incidences of violence in North Carolina’s prisons, advocates and state officials believe there are reforms that can improve conditions for those working in and those residing in North Carolina’s 54 prisons. A group of 125 people gathered in Raleigh last week...
NC lawmakers give authority over the state’s mental health care system to DHHS secretary and hope for better outcomes
North Carolina’s six local behavioral health management companies — known as LME-MCOs — will see some significant restructuring soon. For years, patients, their families and mental health advocates have lodged repeated complaints about the lack of services some of the LME-MCOs provide and about the difficulty people have navigating the mental health system. State lawmakers have also had their share of frustrations with trying to hold the organizations accountable when problems arise.
Priorities set, early childhood advocates turn focus to policy changes
CHAPEL HILL — After more than a year delving into 30 policy issues around infant and early childhood mental health, the EarlyWell Initiative has announced its top six priorities to work on through 2025. The organization is an initiative created by a group of child welfare advocacy organizations with...
Atrium Health halts lawsuits against patients for unpaid medical bills
Atrium Health, the state’s top collector of medical debt in recent years, has quietly stopped suing patients for unpaid medical bills. The change was praised by critics who have long said it’s not right for a publicly chartered, multibillion-dollar, nonprofit hospital to take patients to court for medical costs that are often out of their control.
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...
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