Charlotte

A woman's pregnant torso poses in the light. This photo is used to illustrate perinatal depression and maternal health and use of nitrous oxide in childbirth.

No laughing matter: Nitrous oxide gains acceptance in NC’s delivery rooms

February 17, 2020 by Yen Duong Leave a Comment

No laughing matter: Nitrous oxide gains acceptance in NC’s delivery rooms - North Carolina Health News

Last week, Atrium Health’s Charlotte Medical Center started offering nitrous oxide as a pain relief option for women in labor, joining several other hospitals across the state.

By Yen Duong If you’ve ever had a wisdom tooth out or dental surgery, you may have used laughing gas to take the edge off the pain. Across North Carolina, women now have the option to use the same nitrous oxide to get through childbirth. The mix of nitrous and oxygen has been used for […]

A toddler adjusting his mortarboard in a graduation gown

Nurse-Family Partnership programs guide first-timers through transition to motherhood

January 10, 2020 by Yen Duong

Nurse-Family Partnership programs guide first-timers through transition to motherhood - North Carolina Health News

Nurse Family Partnership programs support low-income pregnant women with home nurse visits across the nation. In 2019, the Mecklenburg program won national recognition for its outcomes.

By Yen Duong When Denise Ward first moved to Charlotte in the summer of 2017, she was pregnant, jobless and homeless. She found a landing spot at the Florence Crittenden residential program for homeless pregnant women. Soon after, Ward joined the Nurse-Family Partnership program offered by the community health nonprofit Care Ring. From that point, […]

Attorney general Josh Stein speaks at a podium to reporters about measures to fight the opioid crisis.

NC dentists join AG Josh Stein in effort to fight opioid epidemic

January 8, 2020 by Anne Blythe

NC dentists join AG Josh Stein in effort to fight opioid epidemic - North Carolina Health News

After pulling your wisdom teeth, your dentist might not prescribe opioids as the first line of attack against the surgical pain.

By Anne Blythe Holiday breaks for many teens and college students might often include a bit of bah humbug in a dentist’s office. Many young people schedule wisdom teeth extractions then so they can have a few days to recover at home without missing classes or work. The experience can be one of the more […]

shows white fireworks against a dark sky. 2019, 2020

NC health trends and policies to watch for in 2020

January 3, 2020 by Editor

NC health trends and policies to watch for in 2020 - North Carolina Health News

We asked our reporters to predict the biggest developments in health in the state this coming year. Today, we look ahead on Medicaid transformation, environmental policy, mental health and more.

By North Carolina Health News staff Our reporters explored some of the biggest topics in North Carolina’s health arena from Medicaid managed care to mental health in prisons, to the state’s opioid crisis. Here is a sampling of the topics they’ll be monitoring in the coming year: Medicaid battles continue with a January mini session […]

shows a group of people gathered on a graffiti covered bridge, they're working with equipment that's on the ground.

What stories grabbed you in 2019? NC Health News most-read stories of the year, continued.

December 31, 2019 by Editor

What stories grabbed you in 2019? NC Health News most-read stories of the year, continued. - North Carolina Health News

NC Health News published more than 300 stories in 2019. These are rest of the topics which were widely read, shared and commented on.

By NC Health News staff PFAS, 1,4 dioxane still troubling NC waters In the Wilmington area, the reaction was swift to news in 2017 that potentially unhealthy levels of GenX and other “forever chemicals” had been found in drinking water drawn from the Cape Fear River. There, officials had someone to blame. The state Department […]

A group of people at tables watching a speaker on stage at a suicide prevention event

Charlotte community events bring suicide prevention to the fore

November 14, 2019 by Yen Duong

Charlotte community events bring suicide prevention to the fore - North Carolina Health News

Events sponsored by Atrium Health and nonprofit group Healthy Charlotte Alliance brought together community members, health care providers and advocates to raise awareness of suicide and prevention.

By Yen Duong Last week, the North Carolina Child Task Force released a report showing that suicide among 10 to 17-year-olds reached its highest rate ever in 2018, with 52 child deaths by suicide in North Carolina. That report underscores the need that pushed two groups in Charlotte to hold community suicide awareness and prevention […]

Two hands clasped together to signify peer support

NC’s growing peer support ecosystem creates opportunities, challenges

November 8, 2019 by Liora Engel-Smith

NC’s growing peer support ecosystem creates opportunities, challenges - North Carolina Health News

In response to a reader question, we looked into the state of peer support in North Carolina. There has been tremendous growth in the number of peer support specialists in the state, but that growth is not without challenges.

By Liora Engel-Smith In a state marked by a mental health care workforce shortage so severe that more than a quarter of all counties have no psychologists at all, another type of provider group is quietly growing. These professionals didn’t get their training in college or graduate school and they can’t prescribe drugs. What they […]

A bunch of men with suits sit around tables in the General Assembley in Raleigh, where last week they changed the definition of sexual assault, closing a loophole in the law.

NC sexual assault reforms pass unanimously

November 7, 2019 by Carolina Public Press

NC sexual assault reforms pass unanimously - North Carolina Health News

Loopholes on revoked consent and incapacitated sexual assault closed without opposition by NC House and Senate.

Kate Martin Carolina Public Press UPDATE: Gov. Cooper signed the bill into law this week. A wide-ranging legislative package reforming sexual assault laws passed both chambers of the NC General Assembly unanimously last week, with two elements closing decades-old legal loopholes on the definition of rape that set North Carolina apart. The Senate passed SB […]

North Carolina ranks high nationally for LGBTQ-friendly hospitals

October 17, 2019 by Yen Duong

North Carolina ranks high nationally for LGBTQ-friendly hospitals - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina had the fourth-highest number of health care institution “leaders” in an annual survey-based report from an LGBTQ rights group.

By Yen Duong In a state where advocates for transgender health still shudder remembering HB2, the “bathroom bill” of 2016, area hospitals have stepped up in their treatment of LGBTQ patients. North Carolina boasted 24 “leader” hospitals which received a perfect score in the 2019 Healthcare Equality Index, a survey from a national LGBTQ advocacy […]

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 […]

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