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Brunswick County

A doctor and patient in a community health center

Community health centers are again on the brink of federal funding lapse

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Community health centers are again on the brink of federal funding lapse - North Carolina Health News

The federal budget -- and with it funding for community health centers -- is set to lapse on Dec. 21.

By Liora Engel-Smith Across North Carolina, community health centers are contending with what has become an unpleasant tradition: planning for a potential federal funding lapse. The nation’s safety net clinics — 250 of which are in North Carolina — serve thousands of uninsured and underinsured patients and enjoy bipartisan support. But a battle between Congress […]

Sec. Mandy Cohen and Deputy Sec. Dave Richard are sitting at a white table in an update on Medicaid transformation to the House Health committee

March to Medicaid managed care switch looking rocky

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March to Medicaid managed care switch looking rocky - North Carolina Health News

At a meeting Wednesday, lawmakers floated the idea of pushing back the date for switching to managed care from the planned Feb. 1 start date.

By Sarah Ovaska-Few No one said it would be easy to move 1.6 million Medicaid recipients away from the existing fee-for-service system that’s been in place for decades, to a new system with a different management and payment model. And that message – it’s not easy — is what state lawmakers heard Wednesday as top […]

There's a sign for the emergency room and also a sign for New Hanover Regional Medical Center. In the background is the entrance to the Emergency Room.

NC’s largest county-owned hospital weighs a potential sale

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NC’s largest county-owned hospital weighs a potential sale - North Carolina Health News

New Hanover Regional Medical Center announced it was exploring options, including an outright sale.

By Liora Engel-Smith The hospital campus on Wilmington’s South 17th Street is teeming with activity. On a recent afternoon, golf carts ferried patients across the vast campus, which includes a plethora of buildings with imposing names: surgical pavilion, cancer center and emergency trauma center. New Hanover Regional Medical Center serves six counties. At 647 beds, […]

A bouquet of orange and red wrappers with condoms are visible. Condoms are one way to prevent the transmission of HIV.

In rural Southeastern NC, ‘one stop shop’ keeps HIV-positive patients healthy

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In rural Southeastern NC, ‘one stop shop’ keeps HIV-positive patients healthy - North Carolina Health News

To explore a reader question about successful programs that address social determinants of health, NC Health News visited a program for HIV-positive people that ventures beyond the confines of traditional healthcare to keep patients out of the hospital.

By Liora Engel-Smith When Christopher Jones was thinking of going back to school for his bachelor’s degree, he shot a text to staff at the clinic where he gets his medical care to ask for advice. The Cumberland County resident knew he couldn’t keep his full-time job and go to school at the same time. […]

Shows two women in a lab, manipulating tools in order to test water samples, which are arranged on the tabletop

North Carolina not among states getting federal grants to study PFAS exposure on health

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North Carolina not among states getting federal grants to study PFAS exposure on health - North Carolina Health News

Environmental group says the state wasn’t awarded a grant because it failed to apply. State DHHS says the grant “was not appropriate” as a research study.

By Greg Barnes North Carolina is not among seven states that will be awarded federal grant funding to conduct health studies on people in specific communities who have been drinking water contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS. The reason: North Carolina, which is said to have the third-worst PFAS contamination in the […]

shows three people behind a table with microphones, they're each standing and raising their right hands before they testify about PFAS

Chemical company execs come under fire at congressional hearing on PFAS

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Chemical company execs come under fire at congressional hearing on PFAS - North Carolina Health News

For the first time, executives from Chemours, DuPont and 3M were called before a U.S. House environmental oversight committee to discuss their accountability in the PFAS contamination plaguing North Carolina and the country.

By Greg Barnes Near the end of a congressional hearing last week, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz grilled executives of the 3M, DuPont and Chemours chemical companies about their willingness to compensate people harmed by fluorinated compounds. The hearing, before a U.S. House subcommittee on environmental oversight and reform, was the third in a series amid […]

Hurricane Dorian thrashes farmer’s tobacco crop

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Hurricane Dorian thrashes farmer’s tobacco crop - North Carolina Health News

Brunswick County farmer Jody Clemmons tried to remain upbeat as Hurricane Dorian approached. This morning, after surveying his fields, he was left wondering if he will have to change how he farms to remain solvent after three hurricanes in 36 months.

By Greg Barnes Shortly after sunrise today, Brunswick County farmer Jody Clemmons left his house to survey the damage Hurricane Dorian caused to his tobacco and soybean crops in fields near the coast. What he found was expected, and heartbreaking, for a farmer who has now endured three hurricanes in four growing seasons. Dorian brought […]

A field of corn that's leaning over with pines trees behind it.

For one Brunswick County farmer, it feels like hurricanes “have become the new norm”

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For one Brunswick County farmer, it feels like hurricanes “have become the new norm” - North Carolina Health News

Three hurricanes in four growing seasons have taken an economic and emotional toll on many of North Carolina’s farmers.

By Greg Barnes The only thing Brunswick County farmer Jody Clemmons can do now is wait. And hope. Is there still a chance that a high pressure ridge could push Hurricane Dorian back out to sea, he wondered Wednesday morning? That is unlikely at this stage. The National Weather Service in Raleigh says to expect […]

an african american man stands surrounded by women, he's looking at some papers

Advanced practice nurses press legislature for autonomy from MD supervision

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Advanced practice nurses press legislature for autonomy from MD supervision - North Carolina Health News

This year, the nurses have some powerful allies, and perhaps timing, favoring their quest for more independence.

By Rose Hoban Debbie Varnam runs a busy primary care practice in the Brunswick County town of Shallotte. The town is small enough that her 2,500 or so patients at Seaside Wellness make up a sizable portion of the town. Varnam says she’s also got a collegial relationship with other practitioners in the area, including […]

Shows two women in a lab, manipulating tools in order to test water samples, which are arranged on the tabletop

Blood Tests Show 4 PFAS, But No GenX

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Blood Tests Show 4 PFAS, But No GenX - North Carolina Health News

Results of blood tests taken earlier this year show people drinking Cape Fear River water had some fluroinated chemicals in their blood, but not GenX.

By Trista Talton Coastal Review Online Blood samples taken from more than 300 New Hanover County residents contain man-made chemicals unique to their drinking water source, but GenX is not one of them. Results of blood tests from a GenX exposure study reveal four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, specific to customers of the […]