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Assisted living centers are usually for older adults who are more independent and capable of following COVID-19 protocols than those living in nursing homes. So why are more residents dying of COVID in assisted living centers? #COVID19NC #nchealth northcarolinahealthnews.org/2…

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Disability Rights NC

Sheriff removes leg cuffs from a psychiatric patient after transporting the man from one hospital to another

More NC psych patients are ending up handcuffed in a police car. Why?

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More NC psych patients are ending up handcuffed in a police car. Why? - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina’s use of involuntary commitment for mental health patients increased by 91 percent over a decade. This is the first in an occasional series of stories where we’ll explore what factors are contributing to this rise and what it means for patients.

By Taylor Knopf When Sonia Padial’s grieving son swallowed too many Tylenol, she took him to the hospital for help. She says her son, Andrew — whose name has been changed to protect his identity — has autism. He struggles to process emotions, especially around loss. He’s an introvert and forms stronger bonds with animals […]

photo shows three older people with masks standing and talking outside a white tent where someone else sits ready to help with voting

How do you vote if you live in a nursing home? It can be complicated.

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How do you vote if you live in a nursing home? It can be complicated. - North Carolina Health News

An octogenarian’s story shows the many obstacles to voting in long-term care facilities in 2020.

By Rose Hoban At 84, Jay Leavitt has been voting for about six and a half decades. Despite being quadriplegic, he’s politically active and astute and knows many of the candidates near his home in Polk County. “Just before I went into the hospital, in February, I went to a meet the candidates’ event, and […]

Door to a unit inside a jail. Jail suicides and overdoses are on the rise across the state. The counties may not have enough resources to fight COVID-19.

COVID outbreak worsens at Pitt County Jail

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COVID outbreak worsens at Pitt County Jail - North Carolina Health News

“Make bond, because y’all can’t breathe like George Floyd”: Situation worsens at local jail outbreak, inmates say they’re not being tested and were told to post bail if they want to escape COVID-19.

By Hannah Critchfield Travis and his fiancée don’t talk much anymore. It’s not that he doesn’t call — it’s that he’s often gasping for air. Travis, who has not yet been convicted of a crime and request NC Health News only use his first name, is awaiting trial for drug possession and assault charges inside […]

Over 120 COVID-19 cases at North Carolina’s only immigration detention facility

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Over 120 COVID-19 cases at North Carolina’s only immigration detention facility - North Carolina Health News

One transferred migrant dead, over 120 people have fallen ill amid continued transfers, arrests, and opaque testing practices. A look at Alamance County Detention Center’s emerging pandemic legacy.

By Hannah Critchfield Nehel Gaya’s father has traveled so much during the pandemic, she’s having trouble keeping up. The South Carolina resident had received calls from Georgia, Texas, Louisiana — whatever immigrant detention facility her father, a Pakistani citizen, happened to be transferred to next. Well into the pandemic, one of those places was a […]

We see a hand holding a cardboard sign that says, "#Free Them All" sticking out the passenger window of a compact white car passing the Durham County Detention Facility. The car is part of a caravan of protestors calling for the release of inmates who are unable to pay bail during the pandemic. It's Father's Day, 2020.

Even as NC’s COVID numbers stabilize, jail outbreaks spike

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Even as NC’s COVID numbers stabilize, jail outbreaks spike - North Carolina Health News

Cases have risen at nine local jails; at least one outbreak is connected to a transfer from the state prison system.

By Hannah Critchfield Nine jails in North Carolina have reported new COVID-19 outbreaks since August 1. The infections have occurred just as the state has begun to see a hint of stabilization in its overall COVID-19 cases. The vast majority of these jails — in Avery, Carteret, Catawba, Gaston, Orange, Rutherford, Stokes and Wilkes counties […]

beyond a fence two fences, one topped with razor wire, about a dozen men play on a bleak basketball court. Many people with mental illness end up in the prison system

COVID-19 puts pressure on already fractured prison health system

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COVID-19 puts pressure on already fractured prison health system - North Carolina Health News

COVID-19 has hit North Carolina’s prisons hard. But the system was already struggling under the weight of staffing issues, budget cuts, management changes and a surge of mental health patients for more than a decade.

By Taylor Knopf The North Carolina prison system has been under heightened scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic after outbreaks of the virus occurred in several facilities across the state. Five inmates and one prison nurse have died from the virus. Hundreds have been infected. Inmates were being moved freely between facilities with outbreaks and those […]

NC Correctional Institution for Women entrance

Former Wake County Register of Deeds Laura Riddick went to prison after embezzling nearly a million dollars. Then she contracted COVID.

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Former Wake County Register of Deeds Laura Riddick went to prison after embezzling nearly a million dollars. Then she contracted COVID. - North Carolina Health News

Riddick describes what it’s like for her, and the women around her, to fall ill from the deadly virus while in prison.

By Thomas Goldsmith Laura Riddick did the crime and knows she has to do the time. As it’s turned out, the former Wake County register of deeds’ 2018 guilty plea — to charges of embezzling nearly $1 million in public funds — means that she’s housed in the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women at […]

Jail suicides are on the rise in North Carolina

North Carolina jail suicides reached record high last year, amid calls for reform

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North Carolina jail suicides reached record high last year, amid calls for reform - North Carolina Health News

Advocates say the deaths highlight the critical need for reform of outdated state jail policies, which remain in limbo at the state legislature.

By Hannah Critchfield In the first month of the new year, Melissa Middleton Rice, 49, was left alone in the booking room at the Jackson County Detention Center. Nearly an hour later, an officer would check on her for the first time, even though on a closed circuit monitored by guards, she had not moved […]

shows map of North Carolina divided up by Congressional district. the map represents how much COVID relief money went to each district

Coronavirus Today – May 7 – Case numbers rise as state preps for partial reopening

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Coronavirus Today – May 7 – Case numbers rise as state preps for partial reopening - North Carolina Health News

Social distancing restrictions being eased as COVID-19 lab confirmed cases rise, but the hike doesn’t warrant reversing course, officials say.

By North Carolina Health News staff Opening too soon? North Carolina saw its largest daily jump in lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 a day before social distancing restrictions will be eased slightly. The Thursday count was 639 more positive cases than Wednesday, pushing the state to a total of 13,397 lab-confirmed cases across 99 of North […]

Door to a unit inside a jail. Jail suicides and overdoses are on the rise across the state. The counties may not have enough resources to fight COVID-19.

NC governor to sheriffs: No extra state COVID-19 resources available for jail inmates

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NC governor to sheriffs: No extra state COVID-19 resources available for jail inmates - North Carolina Health News

In a conference call with Gov. Roy Cooper, NC sheriffs asked about medical assistance for possible jail inmates with COVID-19. Cooper couldn’t provide them with much.

By Taylor Knopf North Carolina has 100 counties each with their own sheriff and jail system, meaning there are 100 different responses to the COVID-19 pandemic for jail inmates across the state. On Tuesday, North Carolina’s sheriffs joined Gov. Roy Cooper on a conference call with questions about what to do if the virus is […]

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