NC Senate passes bill to restrict homeless encampments, expand drug penalties
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UNC Health seeks approval for new hospital in Asheville
By Ted Clifford Asheville Watchdog UNC Health, the University of North Carolina’s hospital system, has applied for permission to open a 92-bed hospital near downtown Asheville. North Carolina’s state-owned nonprofit health provider, which already has a management agreement with UNCHealth Pardee in Henderson County, made the request to the North Carolina Department of Health and…
Atrium land deal clears way for 1,200 homes
By Michelle Crouch Co-published with The Charlotte Ledger After months of scrutiny, Atrium Health announced this week that it has finalized a deal to fulfill one of the affordable housing promises it made in 2021 while seeking public support for The Pearl, its medical innovation district. The agreement calls for the hospital to transfer nearly 14…
Mixed federal messages on drug checking leave North Carolina harm reduction programs in limbo
By Taylor Knopf For the third year in a row, drug overdose deaths in the U.S. have trended downward. North Carolina had one of the largest year-over-year decreases — a nearly 29 percent drop in overdose deaths from the end of 2024 to 2025. Substance use experts worry these hard-fought gains could now be in…
Put state health assessment form on your ‘kindergarten to-do’ list
By Jennifer Fernandez Even as one school year is wrapping up, parents of preschoolers should be working on getting their kindergarten students ready for school in the fall. A key recommendation: Schedule a well-child visit and ask your child’s doctor to fill out the North Carolina Health Assessment Transmittal Form, a health assessment document that…
Cardiac emergency survivors, advocates encourage ‘Smart Heart Act’ inclusion in state budget
By Skye Crawford Hailey Yentz was lifting weights with her track and field team in February 2025, when she started to feel dizzy. Without knowing why, she collapsed in a teammate’s arms and for 10 minutes, she had no pulse. The college senior was having a heart attack. After that cardiac arrest, Yentz, who had…
Giving more teeth to public health in dentistry
By Anne Blythe Mary Otto was a reporter at The Washington Post almost two decades ago when she came across the story of a Maryland boy whose lack of access to routine dental care would expose a broken oral health system. Deamonte Driver was just 12 years old in February 2007 when he died from…
