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North Carolina Health News
Charlotte-area urgent care center stays open late to help patients avoid the ER
On a Friday night in late May, a soccer ball struck 12-year-old Dhruvtej Karande in the face, driving the edge of his glasses into his eyebrow and opening up a two-inch gash. His parents rushed to the nearest urgent care center, but it was already closed when they arrived, said his mom, Priyanka Karande. Then it was off to another urgent care in Charlotte’s University City area. It, too, was closed.
The chicken and egg problem of fighting another flu pandemic
Even a peep of news about a new flu pandemic is enough to set scientists clucking about eggs. They worried about them in 2005, and in 2009, and they’re worrying now. That’s because millions of fertilized hen eggs are still the main ingredient in making vaccines that, hopefully, will protect people against the outbreak of a new flu strain.
Legal challenges keep NC abortion law in flux
More than a year after state lawmakers passed Senate Bill 20, adding new abortion restrictions in a late-night vote overriding Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto, the status of the law dictating access to the procedure in North Carolina remains in flux. That’s because the law has been entangled in two lawsuits that challenge some of the requirements lawmakers implemented.
Robust safety plans in place for U.S. Open’s return to Pinehurst
Last year’s U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club was, by most accounts, a low-key affair. The relatively small size of the venue meant tickets were limited to just 22,000 people — a far cry from the throngs at previous editions of the long-running golf championship. That won’t...
Abortion access expert talks about the U.S. position in the global abortion landscape
Since the Dobbs decision in June 2022, nearly half of states in the United States — including North Carolina — have curtailed access to abortion by implementing increased restrictions. The significant rollback in abortion legality throughout much of the country puts the United States in sharp contrast to...
At 8 years old, Miles Campbell saved four lives
Eight-year-old Miles Campbell loved to help those in need, a lesson he learned from his parents. Their latest project, spearheaded by his mom, Susie Campbell, involved collecting items to give to homeless residents around town. Miles called them “goodie bags” and kept an eye out for anyone who might need one.
Driving toward sustainability: GLOW Academy to start electrifying bus fleet with federal funding
The Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington is committed to reducing its carbon footprint. In 2023, with support from Cape Fear Solar Systems, the school — also known as GLOW — became “one of the top 10 largest [users of solar panels] in New Hanover County and the largest solar system on a school in eastern North Carolina,” according to information provided by the company.
Breaking down barriers: North Carolina’s grassroots fight against HIV
Raymond Velazquez stood in the Asheville post office in a daze. Holding a letter from the blood bank in his hands, he read the lines of print over and over: HIV antibodies had been detected in his blood. He started to shake. Driving home, he fought to keep his grip...
‘Road map’ for providing more care for people with disabilities has bipartisan support
Advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have a long list of needs that they would like state lawmakers to address. This year, though, they’re focusing on two main initiatives. They would like to see the hourly pay rate for direct support professionals increased to $18. These workers...
N.C. Specialty Mental Health Probation aims to improve outcomes for people who have serious mental illnesses
Jason Szybka became a probation/parole officer in Duplin County in October 2020. In the role, he crossed paths frequently with people with serious mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He saw how their mental health affected their lives in the community and their ability to meet supervision requirements.
Affordable internet program faces likely demise despite rallying by N.C. Democrats
A federal program that provided subsidized internet access to low-income families is expected to end on Friday, affecting more than 900,000 households in North Carolina. Created through the federal 2021 infrastructure law, the Affordable Connectivity Program was touted by the Biden administration as the “largest high-speed internet affordability” initiative in American history when it launched. People who met the program’s income-based eligibility requirements saved at least $30 a month on broadband internet, a discount that effectively made the service free for many participants.
NC physicians and community health workers worry about the health implications of proposed immigration bill
Griselda Alonso remembers the home visit well. It was around 2008, a few years after she had started as a community health worker in Wake County. On typical visits, she focused on children’s health, telling families how to get vaccines, outlining healthy eating habits for them and sharing information about diabetes or asthma medications.
Local councils help people coming home from jail, prison make the transition
Danny Hampton started working as a prison chaplain at Marion Correctional Institution in McDowell County in 2010. In the role, he helped advise and guide incarcerated men as they worked to rebuild their lives. But when they got released, he frequently saw those same men “crashing and burning.”. Hampton...
Sustainability advocates look toward a ‘circular economy’ to address climate change
North Carolina’s reliance on single-use plastics is a problem. Plastic shopping bags, utensils, straws, to-go trays and over-the-counter medicine packaging are staples of modern society, but these conveniences come with a steep cost. Fossil fuels used in the production of these items contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, warm the...
Parents lobby to raise awareness about stillbirth, a ‘silent epidemic’
Brittany Day will never forget when she saw the lifeless bodies of her twin daughters, Sophie and Ruby, on a hospital ultrasound in 2017. The day before, she’d felt some erratic movements. She’d taken that as a sign of healthy babies, but she now knows otherwise. In a...
N.C. developing plan to improve Medicaid participants’ job prospects
Medicaid expansion has already provided more than 450,000 low-income North Carolinians with health insurance. Could it also help them find better-paying jobs?. State lawmakers believed that was the case when they approved legislation making North Carolina the 40th state to expand access to Medicaid in March 2023. The law, which officially took effect in December, included a provision requiring the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to collaborate with the state’s Department of Commerce to craft a plan for “assessing the current employment status and any barriers to employment” of adults who gained Medicaid through expansion.
Doctors rail against proposed ban against public masking
Cameron Wolfe, an infectious disease specialist at Duke University with a knack for making medicine and science easily understood, is just as straightforward when offering his thoughts on a legislative proposal to ban masking in public. “Politicizing what is fundamentally a health issue for a cheap shot at the Israel-Gaza...
‘Care can’t wait’: Child care advocates rally for funding, support
RALEIGH — Dozens of child care facilities across North Carolina closed Thursday. Not because they didn’t have enough teachers — which many don’t. Not because parents could no longer afford to send their children there — which a growing number can’t. Not because federal...
Many NC jails violate legal requirements by skipping meds for opioid use disorder
For almost six years, R struggled with addiction. He said he tried to quit using opioids and benzodiazepines more than 50 times — mostly “cold turkey” — but it never worked. In 2020, he got arrested. When he got out of jail on bond...
From dumped on to praised: New documentary reveals how Warren County gave birth to a movement
Since 1982, when the state of North Carolina placed a hazardous waste landfill near the Warren County town of Afton, sparking six weeks of protest and thrusting the community into the national spotlight, local activists have fought to keep the past alive and to tell the story on their terms.
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Founded in November 2011 as a North Carolina nonprofit, NCHN is an independent news organization devoted to covering health care in the state.
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