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we see hands of a researcher who is moving around dangerous pathogens such as covid -19

General Assembly leaders supported a study on COVID with $100,000. What will it tell us going forward?

April 16, 2020 by Rose Hoban

General Assembly leaders supported a study on COVID with $100,000. What will it tell us going forward? - North Carolina Health News

A Wake Forest Baptist study aims to track who’s infected or not, but is only part of the broader picture as NC takes next steps.

By Rose Hoban The science of tracking the novel coronavirus’ spread took on a political tinge Wednesday with Senate leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) participating in the rollout of a research study to track people who may have already had COVID-19 without knowing it. Berger announced earlier this week that $100,000 in discretionary funding from the […]

health care workers wearing personal protective equipment, or PPE

PPE 101: How does personal protective equipment work?

March 31, 2020 by Rose Hoban

PPE 101: How does personal protective equipment work? - North Carolina Health News

There’s a national shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical personnel on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. And with that, a lot of questions about how PPE works and how people can help. Today, we’ll delve into the N95 mask.

By Rose Hoban As the number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations grows in North Carolina, so have the concerns about having adequate amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers. “Those on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic are concerned that the lack of adequate PPE endangers not only themselves, but their patients and […]

N.C. Board of Pharmacy enacts emergency rules to stop hoarding of unproven COVID-19 drugs

March 25, 2020 by Greg Barnes

N.C. Board of Pharmacy enacts emergency rules to stop hoarding of unproven COVID-19 drugs - North Carolina Health News

The board took the action after reporting that health care providers were writing hydroxychloroquine prescriptions for themselves and family members. The drug is a potential life-saver for people with lupus, but it has been snapped up after being mentioned by President Trump.

By Greg Barnes The N.C. Board of Pharmacy approved emergency rules Tuesday designed largely to restrict health care providers from writing prescriptions for themselves and family members for hydroxychloroquine and other drugs that some have said show some promise in the fight against COVID-19. In a statement, the pharmacy board said a number of health […]

Cone Health drive-thru clinic personnel get supplies outside.

Drive-thru testing sites pop up across NC, but supply shortages cause some of them to close

March 23, 2020 by Liora Engel-Smith

Drive-thru testing sites pop up across NC, but supply shortages cause some of them to close - North Carolina Health News

Several health systems across the state have either set up or are in the process of setting up drive-thru testing clinics for the novel coronavirus, but some of them closed for lack of supplies.

By Liora Engel-Smith As North Carolina’s COVID-19 caseload climbs, health care providers are setting up drive-thru screening and testing sites for the novel coronavirus across the state. But supply shortages in at least two collection sites led to temporary or extended closures last week. Drive-thru sites allow people whose doctor deemed the test necessary to […]

Toni Henley says she is frustrated because her husband, Jeff, had to wait nearly a week to be tested for the COVID-19. Now he's being given hydroxychloroquine

Harnett County coronavirus patient now hospitalized, unproven drugs may be part of treatment

March 22, 2020 by Greg Barnes

Harnett County coronavirus patient now hospitalized, unproven drugs may be part of treatment - North Carolina Health News

Jeff Hensley, 57, started feeling ill on March 4, now his wife says he's being treated with hydroxychloroquine, an old drug that researchers hope will be a "hail Mary" treatment for coronavirus infection.

By Greg Barnes and Rose Hoban Update: Jeff Hensley returned home Sunday, according to a Facebook post his wife, Toni Hensley wrote. “[H]e is tired and weak and still short of breath but he will be recovering at home with his personal home nurse,” she wrote. A Harnett County man with the coronavirus has taken […]

A man in a suit, he is Dale Hill, who works at emergency preparedness at WakeMed. If coronavirus spreads in Central North Carolina, the team under Hill may be dispatched.

How do hospitals prepare for an outbreak? The first place to look is their warehouse.

March 4, 2020 by Liora Engel-Smith

How do hospitals prepare for an outbreak? The first place to look is their warehouse. - North Carolina Health News

The state’s emergency preparedness infrastructure, created to respond to natural disasters and terrorism threats, may be deployed should coronavirus spread.

Liora Engel-Smith and Rose Hoban As North Carolina contends with its first case of coronavirus, some in the state have been long preparing to support health care providers should an outbreak such as COVID-19 become widespread. One of those people is Dale Hill of WakeMed, the Raleigh-based health care system. Hill, operations manager for preparedness […]

shows an inmate in a orange jail jumpsuit and handcuffs behind a bottle labeled methadone, an opioid use disorder drug that can help reduce cravings.

For some opioid users in NC, jail doesn’t mean detox

February 25, 2020 by Taylor Knopf

For some opioid users in NC, jail doesn’t mean detox - North Carolina Health News

To prevent overdose deaths, some counties are allowing inmates to continue medication-assisted treatment.

Taylor Knopf For most people using substances, time in jail means forced detox. This is also true for those trying to improve their lives with opioid addiction programs, such as medication-assisted treatment (MAT). More and more North Carolinians are entering these MAT programs, where they receive daily doses of drugs, such as methadone or buprenorphine […]

A bunch of test tubes are visible as an analogy for COVID-19 research

Radio device shows promise as liver cancer treatment, NC study finds

October 15, 2019 by Yen Duong

Radio device shows promise as liver cancer treatment, NC study finds - North Carolina Health News

A device created by Wake Forest Baptist Health researchers is on its way to treating liver cancer with radio frequencies.

By Yen Duong Radio waves can entertain and inform you when driving around, but tweak the frequency and amplitude just right and it could save lives, according to a new study by researchers from Wake Forest Baptist Health. Researchers are working on getting FDA approval for a treatment device that kills tumor cells of hepatocellular […]

The governor standing on the left greets a man in a wheel chair and his mother, who stands between them.

Complex Pain Problems Put Patients in a Bind

October 17, 2018 by Taylor Knopf

Complex Pain Problems Put Patients in a Bind - North Carolina Health News

Pain patients point out that even as opioid overdose rates have skyrocketed, their treatment options have become more constrained by new laws, fear and a health care system "that incentivizes quick, simplistic answers" to complex problems.

By Taylor Knopf As people in the United States grasp for answers to a national epidemic of opioid overdoses, there’s been a culture shift in the discussion around pain. Many say that the opioid crisis really took off in the 1990s once the assessment of a patient’s pain was promoted as being a “fifth vital […]

white oval pills in a hand, in the background, pink and orange pills on a table top to represent health insurance coverage

Hundreds of N.C. Doctors Say They’ve Stopped Prescribing Opioids

October 15, 2018 by Taylor Knopf

Hundreds of N.C. Doctors Say They’ve Stopped Prescribing Opioids - North Carolina Health News

As opioid deaths mount, attention has been focused on stopping the flow of harmful medications to people who might abuse them. But has the pendulum swung too far?

By Taylor Knopf Amidst the opioid crisis, calls have been pouring in to the North Carolina Medical Board from chronic pain patients who say their doctors have stopped prescribing their pain medication. Some patients say their doctors cite opioid prescribing guidelines created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016, which sets daily […]

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