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North Carolina Health News
Rabid raccoon attack raises questions about when cases get reported to the public
A rabid raccoon attacked Durham resident Christine Houghton in broad daylight in May when she was running on a trail at Eno River State Park. Houghton escaped by drowning the animal in nearby water, even as its teeth were still sunk into her calf. She left its carcass behind as she sought help. And while she was sure the raccoon was rabid, she received confirmation only because park rangers sent the animal for testing.
NC advocate for seniors is now helping shape national Medicare policy
As a child, Gina Upchurch would sit in her grandfather’s lap and count pills at his pharmacy in Smithfield, North Carolina. He was beloved in the community, and people often asked his advice, she recalled. When she was in high school, Upchurch watched her grandmother undergo horrible side effects...
Federal court backs EPA’s GenX health advisory; Chemours vows to continue legal challenges against regulatory agency
Last week, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in a suit brought by Chemours. The chemical company, which manufactures GenX (HFPO-DA), a class of a per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, at its Fayetteville Works facility, challenged the health advisory established by the agency in 2022 for GenX in groundwater.
Work expands to prevent opioid overdoses for people leaving prison
The N.C. Department of Adult Correction says it is putting resources into expanding access to medications for opioid use disorder to those who are incarcerated and those who are headed back into the community. Roughly 70 percent of the more than 31,000 people in North Carolina’s prison population is in...
What GoFundMe conceals: The campaigns that fail
Long before the advent of reality television, the popular game show “Queen for a Day” thrilled American audiences by giving women who told heartbreaking tales of financial struggles a chance at winning expensive items that could help solve their problems. Throughout its 1956-1964 run, each episode featured contestants...
‘They must leave’: Coalition begins push for HCA to relinquish Mission
A broad coalition of western North Carolina doctors, patient advocates, clergy members, a state senator and others are calling on HCA Healthcare to give up the Mission Health network, decrying the level of care it has provided since its $1.5 billion purchase in 2019. The five years since the acquisition...
Smartphones? Email? Poor digital skills become roadblocks to adapting to home for formerly incarcerated people
Juan Acosta, 36, left Sanford Correctional Center on June 15, after serving about 17 years in state prison. He went to Walmart that day and purchased an Android phone — one of his first tasks upon his release. But Acosta said holding the “flat screen phone” in his hand...
Too few retailers check IDs when N.C. kids buy tobacco. That could jeopardize federal substance use treatment funds.
North Carolina is teetering on the edge of losing roughly $5.4 million in federal funds for combating the opioid epidemic and supporting substance use disorder treatment. If the state doesn’t slash youth tobacco access, it could forfeit funding. But North Carolina’s tobacco laws have made that difficult. To...
NC Health News wins 20 awards in annual state press contest
NC Health News has been lauded with an organization-record 20 awards in the annual North Carolina Press Association editorial contest, including five first place wins. The state press association honored work published from March 2023 to March 2024. NC Health News was judged among its peers in the online-only category.
NC’s unique Medicaid renewal strategy results in minimal issues during ‘unwinding’
In June 2023, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services began verifying the eligibility of 2.5 million Medicaid participants for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This marked the start of the so-called unwinding of the continuous coverage requirement, a federal provision that provided states...
The case against plastic waste grows as more studies point to potential harm
What type of pollution is so tiny it can be invisible to the naked eye? Hint: Humans ingest it through the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink. The answer: microplastics. Microplastics are produced from the breakdown of the millions of tons of plastics —...
NC health workers detected lead contamination in applesauce that led to a nationwide recall, several lawsuits
Quick work from a North Carolina pediatrician and Catawba County public health authorities helped detect mass lead poisoning that has affected more than 500 children in at least 44 states. Their action helped get the word out quickly to unsuspecting parents across the country about tainted applesauce. In a new...
Alcohol-monitoring for some N.C. parents could save lives. Uncertainty about the law presents a roadblock.
For months now, Michael Dean Smith said, he has feared his infant daughter will be hurt or killed in a drunk-driving related accident with the mother of his child behind the wheel. Smith, 34, of Waynesville, shares joint custody of his now 15-month-old daughter with Valery Francis, who has primary...
These paramedics are for more than just emergencies in N.C. communities
On a street corner east of Durham’s downtown, Cheryl Riley spotted a woman sitting on a ledge outside a grocery store, her upper body bobbing back and forth. Riley, a Durham County paramedic, pulled over her Ford Expedition with bright blue and yellow markings and asked the woman if she could take her vitals. After getting a go-ahead, Riley checked her blood pressure and oxygen levels.
No state budget this year means Medicaid could run low
NC Medicaid costs fluctuate each year. The state Department of Health and Human Services forecasts how costs might change and asks the legislature for funding adjustments based on those predictions. For the 2024-25 fiscal year, the department asked for almost half a billion dollars extra to meet higher costs —...
North Carolina regulators pass on establishing standards for forever chemicals
Undeterred by the sweltering heat on the grassy mall behind the legislative building in Raleigh on July 10, Democracy Green’s co-founder and executive director Sanja Whittington stepped to a microphone and delivered an impassioned plea. “We are calling upon the Environmental Management Commission to vote yes to removing PFAS...
Increased abortion restrictions complicate training, stoke worries about next generation of OB-GYNs
Rachel Jensen was excited to embark on the next phase of her training in obstetrics and gynecology — a fellowship in complex family planning in North Carolina. But when it came time for her to pack her bags and move from Baltimore, Maryland, to the Triangle last summer, Jensen found a legal landscape much different than what she had signed on for.
N.C.’s Country Doctor Museum: Preserving the legacy of rural health care
Bloodsucking leeches, coffin-shaped tablets and a mechanical “lung” are among the more than 5,000 items on display at The Country Doctor Museum in Nash County. The museum’s collection, spread across two renovated doctors’ offices from the 19th century and a building that once held horse-drawn carriages, is filled with quirky artifacts and crude instruments from the early days of modern medicine. It was founded in 1967 by Gloria Flippin Graham and Josephine Newell, local physicians who came from families of doctors.
Funeral pricing transparency may tip the scales in favor of consumers
Both of Heidi Zanan’s parents died between 2017 and 2021, which meant she had to plan two funerals in the span of four years. Working with the funeral home left her feeling frustrated, lost and abused. “You block out parts of it,” the 54-year-old Garner, North Carolina, resident said....
Sowing a community for people with disabilities
Set against the gently rolling Piedmont hills between Greensboro and Burlington, Peacehaven Community Farm is an active experiment in supporting the choices of people with disabilities to live an active and meaningful life where they choose. Beds of lettuce, collards, green beans and other seasonal staples grow alongside dahlias and...
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