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Proponents of telehealth have pushed for more remote access to services for ages. Here's how COVID-19 accomplished in weeks what they had been urging for years. #COVID19NC #coronavirusNC #telehealth northcarolinahealthnews.org/2…

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Columbus County

red barn on a hillside, next to a field of grass. It's an analogy for rural health or the rural-urban divide.

COVID-19 affected NC’s rural economies long before the first confirmed cases arrived there

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COVID-19 affected NC’s rural economies long before the first confirmed cases arrived there - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina’s coronavirus control measures have strained the state’s already weaker rural economies, data from the first wave of unemployment claims shows.

By Liora Engel-Smith In mid-March, the pandemic that now encompasses every county in the state seemed like a decidedly urban problem. As of March 16, North Carolina’s 33 confirmed cases were concentrated in population centers: the Triangle, the greater Charlotte area and micro counties — areas with smaller cities. But even without confirmed cases, rural […]

shows a man at a podium holding up a face mask used as a COVID preventive as he speaks from behind a podium.

Coronavirus Today – May 8 – COVID faces, not statistics; drive for increased testing; Mother’s Day

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Coronavirus Today – May 8 – COVID faces, not statistics; drive for increased testing; Mother’s Day - North Carolina Health News

As social distancing restrictions ease, Gov. Roy Cooper urges North Carolinians to remember families and communities mourning lost loved ones.

By North Carolina Health News staff More than a pandemic number Gov. Roy Cooper reminded North Carolinians that there are faces, families, loved ones and mourning communities that tell the stories of this pandemic. As the state eases social distancing restrictions to allow for more retail activity and state park visits, Cooper portrayed some of […]

A man in a facemask puts a coronavirus awarness flier on a car at a wal-Mart parking lot in Columbus County, a rural area.

Coronavirus gains a foothold in rural North Carolina

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Coronavirus gains a foothold in rural North Carolina - North Carolina Health News

The state’s first coronavirus outbreaks began in cities, but the virus spread to rural areas. Recent data shows a disproportionate burden of cases per capita there.

By Liora Engel-Smith Coronavirus arrived late to Columbus County, but it caught on quickly.  When the rural county’s health department reported its first case on March 28, North Carolina’s overall case tally had already surpassed 900. By May 4, coronavirus in the county reached a new height: 167 known cases, 10 deaths.  Located about an […]

Water over a flooded road looks like a river

Youth voices from North Carolina’s hurricanes – Part 2

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Youth voices from North Carolina’s hurricanes – Part 2 - North Carolina Health News

NC Health News worked with Wilmington-based Coastal Youth Media to hold a workshop this fall with a group of young people from southeastern counties. Journalists and community organizers worked with these high school students to help them write essays on how they and their families made it through 2018's Hurricane Florence. For this holiday week, we present their stories.

Worry, relief, heartbreak. All in one storm. By Shecoria Smith When I heard the rain, I worried most about my dad. He had traveled across the country to California for work in the days before the hurricane. I thought it would be months before I saw him again. A few days later those worried feelings […]

An older man instructs a group of young people during a Florence resiliency workshop

Youth voices from North Carolina’s hurricanes – Part 1

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Youth voices from North Carolina’s hurricanes – Part 1 - North Carolina Health News

NC Health News worked with Wilmington-based Coastal Youth Media to hold a workshop this fall with a group of young people from southeastern counties. Journalists and community organizers worked with these high school students to help them write essays on how they and their families made it through 2018's Hurricane Florence. For this holiday week, we present their stories.

Waterlogged and waiting for hope By Jonny Morales I was looking at family photos, baby clothes, diplomas and other waterlogged possessions while waiting for teary-eyed homeowners to give me permission to throw them away. Forever. We were only 10 miles away from my home, so damaged by Hurricane Florence, that I would not be able […]

photo shows national guard member leading civilian throughflood waters to a waiting truck

Robeson County residents still reeling from two prior hurricanes

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Robeson County residents still reeling from two prior hurricanes - North Carolina Health News

Nearly three years after Hurricane Matthew, many residents of the state’s second-poorest county are suffering mentally, physically and emotionally while the state grapples to provide relief funding. And now comes Dorian.

By Greg Barnes It’s been three years since Hurricane Matthew crashed into Robeson County, causing water to bubble up through the plumbing of Isa Alvarado’s mobile home and leaving behind a mold-infested mess. Alvarado, 63, didn’t vacate her Fairmont home after Matthew. She said she continued to live there, with her two children and a […]

shows cots and room dividers set up in a large room in a shelter prepared for Hurricane Dorian evacuees

People with special medical needs fleeing Hurricane Dorian might end up at a Clayton church

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People with special medical needs fleeing Hurricane Dorian might end up at a Clayton church - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina has opened a specialized medical needs shelter in Clayton and a 600-plus bed mega-shelter in Durham as Hurricane Dorian whirls through the Atlantic Ocean toward storm-weary coastal communities.

By Anne Blythe As Hurricane Dorian churned in the Atlantic Ocean, frustrating the meteorologists trying to predict its path, there was a bit of calm before the coming storm Wednesday at a specialized medical emergency shelter in Clayton. Amy O’Connor, a registered nurse at Duke, and Logan Spears, an emergency room nurse at Duke Raleigh […]

shows the night view of the east coast with a large cyclone cloud almost parallel to southern North Carolina

Keep up with how Hurricane Dorian is affecting health in NC

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Keep up with how Hurricane Dorian is affecting health in NC - North Carolina Health News

Throughout the day Thursday, we'll be posting news and information to help you navigate your way safely through Hurricane Dorian.

By Greg Barnes, Anne Blythe, Yen Duong, Thomas Goldsmith, Rose Hoban 4:45 p.m.- Follow-up story posted with farmer “I’m not complaining, but maybe it’s time for me to do something else,” said farmer Jody Clemmons in this story, a preliminary look at the effects of Dorian on N.C. farmers: Hurricane Dorian thrashes farmer’s tobacco crop. […]

shows a street sign reading, "Watch for Senior Citizens"

Matthew & Florence taught NC lessons: Storms like Dorian threaten old people

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Matthew & Florence taught NC lessons: Storms like Dorian threaten old people - North Carolina Health News

The serious perils that older people in North Carolina face during hurricanes are lurking again in the gales and rainy torrents of the powerful storm Dorian. Across the state, prepared professionals and private citizens are stepping up to minimize harm.

By Thomas Goldsmith The specters of catastrophic hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Florence last year are looming darkly over this week’s preparations for Hurricane Dorian, the latest unwanted newcomer to the Tar Heel State. Across North Carolina on Wednesday, older people and those charged with looking after them made preparations, checked registries of vulnerable residents, […]

shows a smiling young man and an older woman with arms around each other, smiling at the camera, while at a disaster relief event in a Wilmington church

Hurricane Florence left destruction but also information on how to prepare for and respond to the next disaster

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Hurricane Florence left destruction but also information on how to prepare for and respond to the next disaster - North Carolina Health News

Cedric Harrison of Support the Port in Wilmington and other community organizers with eyes, ears and boots on the ground highlight relief and recovery shortfalls.

By Anne Blythe Cedric Harrison grew up in Wilmington and saw his share of storms. Until last year he always sheltered in place when hurricane warnings sent North Carolina’s port city into an altered and frantic state. He had successfully ridden out major storms in his 30-some years before Hurricane Florence roiled the seas and […]

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