Alamance County

a man stands at a podium with a number of grim faced advocates for Medicaid expansion standing behind him

Legislative mini-session produces little movement on health care issues, despite new call for Medicaid expansion

January 16, 2020 by Rose Hoban

Legislative mini-session produces little movement on health care issues, despite new call for Medicaid expansion - North Carolina Health News

An unlikely coalition of business people, law enforcement and local officials - all conservative - came together Wednesday to criticize the legislature for missing the opportunity to act on Medicaid.

By Rose Hoban By the time he reached Raleigh after six hours of driving, Dale Wiggins was angry that the lawmakers he was coming to see had already skipped town. Wiggins, the chair of the Graham County Board of Commissioners, came to Raleigh Tuesday to speak to legislators about enacting Medicaid expansion. But by the […]

A woman in a gray polo looks at the camera leaning against a light green column which holds a pay phone and a handwritten note

Mecklenburg County opens NC’s first voluntary jail psych unit

October 8, 2019 by Yen Duong

Mecklenburg County opens NC’s first voluntary jail psych unit - North Carolina Health News

The 28-bed unit for men opened in August in a Mecklenburg County detention center. The unit currently houses six inmates.

By Yen Duong Clarification: This article incorrectly stated that Mecklenburg’s McP unit is the first behavioral health unit in a county jail. Durham County opened a mental health pod in September 2017 for detainees who are too acutely mentally ill for the general population, including those on suicide watch, said Chief Anthony Prignano of the […]

Shows text supporting Medicaid expansion that reads: The Graham County Commissioners strongly give their full support to Representative Kevin Corbin for House Bill 655... The Graham County Board of Commissioners understand that the majority of uninsured inividuals in North Carolina are employed, but do not make enough money to afford health insurance coverage."

Business leaders, conservatives across state warm to Medicaid expansion

October 3, 2019 by Rose Hoban

Business leaders, conservatives across state warm to Medicaid expansion - North Carolina Health News

In private, and increasingly in public, some are making their support for House Bill 655, which would allow for Medicaid expansion in North Carolina, in defiance of the state party leaders.

By Rose Hoban Dale Wiggins thinks it’s time. Actually, he thinks it’s past due. Wiggins, a retired businessman, is the head of the Graham County Board of Commissioners, which recently sent a resolution of support for expanding the state’s Medicaid program to legislative leaders and Gov. Roy Cooper. The unanimous resolution, signed by four Republicans […]

A man stands at a podium talking, others stand behind him, he's discussion the state budget and Medicaid expansion. One item on Berger's agenda, helping rural hpspitals like Randolph hospital, was passed before the General Assembley adjorned.

In dueling events, NC Dems and the GOP rehash Medicaid expansion quarrel

October 2, 2019 by Liora Engel-Smith

In dueling events, NC Dems and the GOP rehash Medicaid expansion quarrel - North Carolina Health News

Democrats gathered to discuss Medicaid expansion at the legislature, even as Republican Senate leader Phil Berger said he opposed it in a press conference.

By Liora Engel-Smith and Rose Hoban After a week of being out of Raleigh and back in their districts, lawmakers returned to the General Assembly and almost immediately resumed the sniping over the budget and Medicaid that’s marked the summer. Even as Democrats were holding a meeting with an out-of-state expert who has crunched the […]

Image of money with a caduceus superimposed on the bills. We're using this image to denote Medicaid managed care.

Budget impasse delays Initial Nov. 1 rollout of Medicaid managed care

September 4, 2019 by Sarah Ovaska

Budget impasse delays Initial Nov. 1 rollout of Medicaid managed care - North Carolina Health News

Instead of one quarter of the state program going live this fall, the entire state will make the transition to managed care in Feb. 2020

By Sarah Ovaska-Few and Rose Hoban The standoff between North Carolina’s state government power brokers over the state budget and Medicaid expansion has claimed a victim: the planned roll-out this fall of Medicaid managed care. N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Sec. Mandy Cohen announced Tuesday morning she was pushing back the Nov. 1 […]

From behind, shows a man holding the hand of a little boy. Whether this is a parent or a foster parent is unknown, but the child appears calm and cared for.

Foster care bill could allow for faster termination of parental rights

August 27, 2019 by Rose Hoban

Foster care bill could allow for faster termination of parental rights - North Carolina Health News

Advocates point to new brain science on the importance of early childhood bonding, but those involved in the child welfare system say it could allow for a too-easy severing of important family connections.

By Rose Hoban The way Rachel Lankford puts it, as a girl, she didn’t spend hours playing in the sandbox, hoping to become addicted to opioids, or alcohol, or marijuana. But she did. By the time she was 20, Lankford had lived hard. Her adolescence, in particular, had been hard. First came a divorce between […]

shows child foods on a shelf labeled WIC

WIC benefits help improve child, maternal nutrition, but fewer families are accessing it

July 15, 2019 by Sarah Ovaska

WIC benefits help improve child, maternal nutrition, but fewer families are accessing it - North Carolina Health News

The program serves expecting and new mothers, as well as their children under five-years old, who live in households with low-incomes.

By Sarah Ovaska-Few Fewer women and children in North Carolina are taking part in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), a federal program designed to ensure low-income women, babies and children get needed nutrients in their diet. The slide is worrisome, given that the WIC program has long only captured […]

shows a pile of different brands of adult incontinence products stuffed under a sink

Adult incontinence products: An undeniable, expensive need for many older people

May 14, 2019 by Thomas Goldsmith

Adult incontinence products: An undeniable, expensive need for many older people - North Carolina Health News

Adult incontinence comes as an unwelcome symptom of dementia & numerous other conditions, but they're pricey and often people don't want to admit the need.

By Thomas Goldsmith Cislyn Ricketts, 88, a retired radiology technician, had problems at first with wearing adult incontinence products. But she adapted, as the kinds of products and their use became more familiar. Her daughter and caregiver Carrie Taye, 72, says use of adult diapers and related items help to manage one of Ricketts’ many […]

One hundred years in a rural clinic

May 13, 2019 by Taylor Knopf

One hundred years in a rural clinic - North Carolina Health News

From a one-room office to a bustling clinic with dozens of employees, the evolution of Scott clinic in Alamance County parallels the changes in the nation's health care system.

By Taylor Knopf Floyd Scott started a health care practice about nine miles outside of Burlington in a one-room office 100 years ago. “That’s all he needed because health care was delivered at home,” said his son Samuel Scott at the 100-year celebration of the Scott Community Health Center last month. Everyone called the elder […]

shows two women in scrubs, between them is an emergency department stretcher with materials and papers laid out on it.

Seeking Conviction: Sexual assault cases hinge on evidence gathered by police, nurses

March 20, 2019 by Seeking Conviction Investigative Collaboration

Seeking Conviction: Sexual assault cases hinge on evidence gathered by police, nurses - North Carolina Health News

Opting for a plea deal viewed as the best option when evidence seems weak. Part of an investigative series examining the issue of sexual assault prosecutions and convictions in North Carolina.

By the Seeking Conviction Investigative Collaboration Sometimes the right evidence can make or break a sexual assault case. Even when that evidence exists forensically or through witness testimony, the right circumstances make a difference, as do solid work by police, rape crisis advocates, medical professionals and prosecutors. Statewide court data analyzed by Carolina Public Press […]

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