By Jennifer Fernandez 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 pandemic aid had ended — which it soon […]
Posted inPrison Health
Many NC jails violate legal requirements by skipping meds for opioid use disorder
By Rachel Crumpler 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 a few days later, R said he knew […]
Posted inEnvironmental Health
From dumped on to praised: New documentary reveals how Warren County gave birth to a movement
By Will Atwater 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. Now, with […]
Posted inChildren's Health
North Carolina has lost almost 5 percent of its licensed child care programs since the pandemic began
By Katie Dukes EducationNC More licensed child care programs in North Carolina are closing their doors as the state approaches the expiration of pandemic-era stabilization funding. According to data provided by the NC Child Care Resource and Referral Council in partnership with the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education, the state has experienced a net […]
Posted inHospitals
New freestanding ERs: faster care, but it can cost you
By Michelle Crouch Co-published with The Charlotte Ledger From SouthPark to Steele Creek, Mountain Island Lake to Waxhaw, sleek and efficient freestanding emergency rooms are springing up across the Charlotte region to serve patients, no hospital required. Since 2010, Atrium Health has opened eight standalone emergency rooms in the Charlotte metro area, part of a […]
Posted inCharlotte Ledger
Urgent Care? Hospital ED? Freestanding ED?
By Michelle Crouch With urgent cares, freestanding emergency rooms and special orthopedic and behavioral centers opening across the state, deciding where to go for a medical emergency is more complicated than it used to be, when the hospital ER was the only option. Doctors said they often get calls from friends and family members asking […]