Federally Qualified Health Center

Providers stand around a bed in a training about opioid use disorder at MAHEC in Asheville last year.

Initiative aims to connect patients to addiction treatment by building better networks

April 9, 2020 by Liora Engel-Smith

Initiative aims to connect patients to addiction treatment by building better networks - North Carolina Health News

A UNC-MAHEC partnership will create regional referral networks using a “hub and spoke” model to better care for those with substance use disorders.

By Liora Engel-Smith As coronavirus tears through North Carolina, upending nearly every aspect of life, some experts are focusing on another ongoing crisis that has gotten less attention in recent weeks: opioid overdoses. Overdoses of both prescription and illegal opioids killed an average of five North Carolinians a day in 2018, according to data from […]

A doctor and patient in a community health center

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

December 11, 2019 by Liora Engel-Smith

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 […]

Shows Hurricane Dorian as it was over the NC Coast in September

Gov. Cooper signs Storm Recovery Act despite concerns

November 20, 2019 by Anne Blythe

Gov. Cooper signs Storm Recovery Act despite concerns - North Carolina Health News

Nearly $180 million in help is on the way for North Carolina recovery and resiliency projects related to hurricanes Dorian, Florence, Matthew and Michael.

By Anne Blythe A political storm that brewed last week between Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican legislative leaders over language in the Storm Recovery Act of 2019 calmed this week. The Democratic governor signed the bill into law, approving the release of some $180 million in state funds for recovery and resilience projects related to […]

An African American man stands in front of a podium, behind him there's a slide about disparities. There are also two women sitting in front of a table at his side. This was a press conference to discuss OIC of Rocky Mount and among other topics, medicaid transformation came up.

In Medicaid transformation rollout, ‘more questions than answers’

November 4, 2019 by Liora Engel-Smith

In Medicaid transformation rollout, ‘more questions than answers’ - North Carolina Health News

The leader of a community health center in Rocky Mount has concerns about the state’s ambitious plans to peg reimbursements to patient health.

By Liora Engel-Smith As the state health department races to roll out an ambitious plan that would tie Medicaid payments to patient health outcomes, at least one regional provider has expressed concerns about the implication of the so-called transformation. The state health department plans to move 1.6 million Medicaid recipients to the pay-for-value system on […]

in the foreground, a sign reading Ocracoke Health Center, with buildings and people walking away in the background

North Carolina’s most remote clinic?

August 1, 2019 by Rose Hoban

North Carolina’s most remote clinic? - North Carolina Health News

The Ocracoke Health Center is one of those vital institutions that keeps the island going, but that doesn’t always translate into fiscal health.

By Rose Hoban Despite being a business leader in a busy tourist town, Cheryl Ballance sometimes has had to tell summer guests not to come to Ocracoke. “Sometimes, we’d get calls from people who said they were nine months pregnant with a high- risk pregnancy, wanting to know if we had resources for them,” Ballance […]

a female physician checks the lungs of a male patient.

Special Report: What happens when a state expands Medicaid?

April 1, 2019 by Rose Hoban

Special Report: What happens when a state expands Medicaid? - North Carolina Health News

We’ve written about the political battles surrounding Medicaid expansion in North Carolina for years. To cut through the political spin, this year we reached out to other states to ask what they experienced.

By Rose Hoban Medicaid expansion has the potential to add thousands of health care jobs to the North Carolina landscape, expand opportunities for care to hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians, and bolster the fortunes of smaller, rural hospitals. While at first, providers might be strained by the addition of these new patients to the […]

map showing the status of states and their licensure of nurse practitioners. North Carolina falls into one of the red states.

More Nurse Practitioners Now Pursue Residency Programs

July 6, 2018 by Kaiser Health News

More Nurse Practitioners Now Pursue Residency Programs - North Carolina Health News

The year-long residencies give newly graduated nurse practitioners extra time with complicated patients and extra time to hone their skills after completing academic training.

By Michelle Andrews Kaiser Health News The patient at the clinic was in his 40s and had lost both his legs to Type 1 diabetes. He had mental health and substance abuse problems and was taking large amounts of opioids to manage pain. He was assigned to Nichole Mitchell, who in 2014 was a newly […]

Keeping a Hospital Afloat in Far Western Murphy

January 18, 2018 by Rose Hoban

Keeping a Hospital Afloat in Far Western Murphy - North Carolina Health News

Mike Stevenson has been at the helm of Murphy Medical Center for 30 years. He’s getting ready to leave, even as he’s preparing the institution for big changes.

By Rose Hoban In the 30 years Mike Stevenson has been leading Murphy Medical Center, he’s seen it happen too often: People wait to get the treatment they need. “They’re too proud to get care they cannot pay for, and therefore don’t get it until too late in their disease,” he said. Stevenson calls these […]

Shows a group of people wearing medical uniforns, along with christmas sweaters, etc and also wearing silly reindeer antlers on their heads.

Loan Repayment for Providers Serving the Poor Becomes Political Football

January 5, 2018 by Rose Hoban

Loan Repayment for Providers Serving the Poor Becomes Political Football - North Carolina Health News

Practitioners serving low-income and rural patients in North Carolina have had their federal student loans repayment grants placed in jeopardy by wrangling in Congress.

By Rose Hoban Frank Diaz really likes his job. He’s has been working as a dentist at Rosewood Dental Services, which is part of the Goshen Medical Center in Goldsboro for coming on two years. The clinic serves a primarily rural population of low-income patients, many of whom live below the poverty line. Diaz, 30, […]

shows front of an old house that is home to the VIM clinic

Stitching a Safety Net in Uncertain Times

February 20, 2017 by MedPage Today

Stitching a Safety Net in Uncertain Times - North Carolina Health News

Physician worries about healthcare have-nots in an economically divided county.

By Taylor Sisk MedPage Today Phillip Stover, MD, reckons that U.S. Highway 56 divides Franklin County in more ways than one. The road passes through Louisburg, the county seat, a town of about 3,500 where Stover practices family medicine and pain management. To the south are modest bedroom communities, home to a workforce that commutes […]

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