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A new scholarship program at ECU has taken aim at the urban/rural health care knowledge gap, training up to 21 nurse practitioner students a year. #ruralhealth #healthcare northcarolinahealthnews.org/2…

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Aging

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Report: Residents in 90 percent of NC nursing homes face increased risk of injury or death in emergencies

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Report: Residents in 90 percent of NC nursing homes face increased risk of injury or death in emergencies - North Carolina Health News

Federal regulators say as many as nine of 10 people who live in NC nursing homes are at heightened risk of death or injury in emergencies because of life-safety violations.

By Thomas Goldsmith  Residents at nine out 10 of North Carolina nursing homes face increased risk of death or injury during emergencies because of lapses in meeting state standards, according to a critical new report from a federal oversight agency. The inspector general’s office, or OIG, of the federal Department of Health and Human Services […]

people in nursing homes smile because they're getting better food under a grant-funded program

As $35M in nursing-home fines sits mostly idle, COVID-ridden NC ranks 3rd among states with unused funds

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As $35M in nursing-home fines sits mostly idle, COVID-ridden NC ranks 3rd among states with unused funds - North Carolina Health News

NC has built up a $35 million fund of fines levied against nursing homes, earmarked to improve quality of life for residents. Why aren’t these caches being used to fight COVID-19?

By Thomas Goldsmith Federal regulators can fine North Carolina nursing homes upward of a half-million dollars when facilities go seriously wrong — as in the case of a Fayetteville resident who died after staff found her with fire ants covering her face and upper body. The deadly 2019 incident described in state records brought a […]

shows an older woman standing outside, wearing a mask against COVID, her mask reads: Asthma

Coronavirus Today – Sep. 3 – ‘Get Behind the Mask’ and Labor Day; Vaccine by November?; Nursing homes and child care; ‘Dr. Mandy Cohen Day’

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Coronavirus Today – Sep. 3 – ‘Get Behind the Mask’ and Labor Day; Vaccine by November?; Nursing homes and child care; ‘Dr. Mandy Cohen Day’ - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina launches a public health face mask campaign six months into the coronavirus pandemic.

By Anne Blythe Public health officials want North Carolinians to keep up their guard against COVID-19 over the long Labor Day weekend so the unofficial end of summer won’t be ushered out the way the season was marshaled in. It was not long after Memorial Day and a coinciding easing of the statewide Stay at […]

A child and an adult play together in this photo from a child care center established during the COVID pandemic.

Lawmakers propose regulatory relief during pandemic, advocates worry it goes too far

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Lawmakers propose regulatory relief during pandemic, advocates worry it goes too far - North Carolina Health News

During this week’s short legislative session, some provisions would reduce regulations around child care programs and senior care.

By Rose Hoban Lawmakers returned to Raleigh this week to appropriate more money for COVID-19 relief. The intention was to allocate close to a billion dollars of federal money sent to North Carolina to address issues created by the pandemic that’s been upending lives for more than half a year. Tucked into the 54-page spending […]

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NC health brain trust keeps focus on ‘seriously ill’ patients, those likely to die within a year

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NC health brain trust keeps focus on ‘seriously ill’ patients, those likely to die within a year - North Carolina Health News

Through most of 2019, high-level North Carolina health professionals were examining the needs of the ‘seriously ill’ population in the state. When COVID-19 arrived in 2020, it was clear much more remained to be done for patients who are within a year of dying.

By Thomas Goldsmith Seriously. That’s the way North Carolina health-care professionals want the state’s health care system and broader community to consider and support fellow residents with conditions that endanger their lives and lifespans. The Task Force on Serious Illness Care recommended improving end-of-life care and planning as important needs that call for more attention. […]

Looking for care after a COVID hospitalization? Here are some suggestions from experts.

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Looking for care after a COVID hospitalization? Here are some suggestions from experts. - North Carolina Health News

It's good news that a North Carolina COVID-19 patient may be ready to be discharged from hospital. But caregivers are also realizing the change will come with a raft of questions about whether the home and caregiver can support a loved one recovering from the deadly virus.

By Thomas Goldsmith North Carolina caregivers have a real hunger for practical answers to difficult questions about COVID-19. Just consider the 9,000 participants who clicked into a statewide “tele town hall” organized by state AARP Aug. 17. The listeners’ questions about the disease covered a broad range of topics, but many centered on friends’ or […]

A skilled nursing facility sign is in the foreground and a building is in the background. The facility, A PruittHealth skilled-nursing facility in Orange County, is dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19, and has a history of poor staffing.

NC outlines plans in wake of 36 COVID-related veterans deaths in state nursing homes

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NC outlines plans in wake of 36 COVID-related veterans deaths in state nursing homes - North Carolina Health News

NC Gov. Roy Cooper says he’ll have his people check out the contract that a Georgia health care company has held for 22 years with the state.

By Thomas Goldsmith  Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration says it will review the contract management of North Carolina’s four state-owned veterans nursing homes by a private Georgia-based health care conglomerate. Because 36 veterans died of COVID-19 in the homes, Cooper wants to know what’s what before the state grants a second one-year extension of Pruitt’s five-year […]

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Coronavirus Today – Aug. 5 Here come the students; taking a pause on NC reopening; Stability is good, decline even better

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Coronavirus Today – Aug. 5 Here come the students; taking a pause on NC reopening; Stability is good, decline even better - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina governor pauses further reopening for at least five weeks.

By Anne Blythe and Thomas Goldsmith North Carolina bars, gyms and large indoor entertainment venues will remain closed for five more weeks to gauge how well the state can keep COVID-19 in check as public school children and college students go back to class. Gov. Roy Cooper announced on Wednesday that the state would remain […]

shows rows of headstones in a veterans cemetery

Cooper, national leaders respond to ravaged veterans nursing homes, look ahead for solutions

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Cooper, national leaders respond to ravaged veterans nursing homes, look ahead for solutions - North Carolina Health News

Gaps in state federal oversight and accountability for privately run veterans homes are now facing scrutiny at all levels of government.

By Thomas Goldsmith and Riley Davis The 36 deaths of North Carolina veterans in state veterans nursing homes have gotten the attention of Gov. Roy Cooper, whose spokesman says he’s moving to hold accountable the private management company that has run the homes for 22 years. “The men and women who bravely served our nation […]

Coronavirus deaths bring attention to privatized state veterans homes

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Coronavirus deaths bring attention to privatized state veterans homes - North Carolina Health News

As COVID-19 outbreaks moved through North Carolina this year, nursing home residents quickly numbered high among those who became infected. Among that population, 36 North Carolina residents of military service died of the novel coronavirus in state-owned veterans nursing homes managed by a Georgia conglomerate, PruittHealth.

By Thomas Goldsmith and Riley Davis With the federal government footing much of the operations bill, state veterans homes have existed since the Civil War, first to care for homeless survivors of war and those with disabilities. A second wave of soldier’s homes came after World War I. “Prior to World War I, programs for […]

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