Hendersonville

shows a woman in a white coat, holding up a paper surgical mask used to prevent COVID-19 transmission in front of her face

Coronavirus Today – June 26 – Helping Hispanic communities battle COVID-19; statewide face mask requirement takes effect

June 26, 2020 by Anne Blythe

Coronavirus Today – June 26 – Helping Hispanic communities battle COVID-19; statewide face mask requirement takes effect - North Carolina Health News

State health officials approve $100,000 grants for five organizations to help staunch the spread of COVID-19 among Latino communities.

By Anne Blythe Hispanic communities are essential to NC. So is protecting their health. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, a family medicine physician at Duke Health whose interests focus on health disparities and access to care, had a powerful message for Hispanic North Carolina residents who are feeling the devastating brunt of COVID-19 disproportionately. The doctor spoke in […]

Members of the Henderson County Rescue Squad enter the decontamination tent outside Cherry Springs Village, an assisted living facility. The squad assist staff remove PPE.

WNC strike team fights back as long-term care residents contract COVID-19

June 11, 2020 by Hannah Critchfield

WNC strike team fights back as long-term care residents contract COVID-19 - North Carolina Health News

Residents of a Hendersonville assisted living home started testing positive for COVID-19 in early April. A carefully assembled “strike team” gathered diverse forces to keep the disease under some level of control.

By Hannah Critchfield and Thomas Goldsmith The calls from Cherry Springs Village came at night. Assisted-living roommates Alicia Rodgers, 50, and Margaret Osteen, 66, were getting results on April 4 from a test for the novel coronavirus that had been taken two days earlier. The disease had infected both women, family members learned. And they […]

Alicia Rodgers, a 50-year-old resident at Cherry Springs Village assisted living facility, beams for a photo taken at a socially-distanced strike team member. Rodgers contracted COVID-19 in the early days of the outbreak at the facility.

As COVID-19 threatened western N.C., a new approach to fighting it in long-term care

June 10, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith

As COVID-19 threatened western N.C., a new approach to fighting it in long-term care - North Carolina Health News

When COVID-19 hit Henderson County, a newly coordinated “strike team” of medical professionals and others, from CNAs to hospice staff, formed to face the threat to endangered long-term care residents.

By Thomas Goldsmith and Hannah Critchfield Jan. 31: U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declares a domestic public health emergency. Late in February, Mark Shepherd kept trying to tell people that Henderson County was heading for hard days, for trouble and sickness caused by a new virus that would spread like mountain wildfire. […]

A skilled nursing facility sign is in the foreground and a building is in the background. The facility, A PruittHealth skilled-nursing facility in Orange County, is dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19, and has a history of poor staffing.

Troubling inspections at NC long-term care facilities with major outbreaks

April 10, 2020 by Carolina Public Press

Troubling inspections at NC long-term care facilities with major outbreaks - North Carolina Health News

Four long-term care facilities with sizable outbreaks have had issues in the past, according to recent state inspections.

By Frank Taylor Carolina Public Press Four North Carolina long-term care facilities with substantial outbreaks of the new coronavirus have a recent history of deficiencies in inspections, according to state records. State health officials on Wednesday reported outbreaks of two or more cases in at least 20 long-term care facilities. Carolina Public Press asked the […]

A child and an adult play together in this photo from a child care center.

Child care centers struggle with conflicting advice during COVID-19 outbreak

March 27, 2020 by Sarah Ovaska

Child care centers struggle with conflicting advice during COVID-19 outbreak - North Carolina Health News

Several groups call on Gov. Roy Cooper to shut down child care centers, find emergency money to provide care for health care workers.

Note: This article has changed from the original to reflect N.C. DHHS further guidance that childcare centers remaining open can take in children of critical workers, but do not have to. By Sarah Ovaska Darnella Warthen hoped to keep her Durham child care centers open even as the spread of COVID-19 prompted public schools, businesses and restaurants in […]

shows a purple light over the door of a hospital room to signify the presence of someone with dementia inside

NC hospital patients with dementia get support from new UNC Health Care initiative

March 11, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith

NC hospital patients with dementia get support from new UNC Health Care initiative - North Carolina Health News

Hospital patients with dementia typically fare less well than those who are neurotypical, but help is arriving via new, dementia-friendly approaches that stress empathy and communication.

By Thomas Goldsmith In a Goldsboro hospital hallway, purple lights shine from about half the doorways to patients’ rooms. Each unusual glow informs staff and visitors that the person inside has dementia and will benefit from something other than the standard bedside manner. The lights are part of a health-care movement that focuses on the […]

Mission Health was bought by HCA last year.

HCA rejects complaints about staffing and services as nurses seek union

March 10, 2020 by Carolina Public Press

HCA rejects complaints about staffing and services as nurses seek union - North Carolina Health News

More than a month after HCA Healthcare was criticized for staffing and poor service at its Asheville facility, the Tennessee-based company responded in paid ads at local newspapers.

Neil Cotiaux Carolina Public Press After more than a month of being criticized by patients and elected officials at a series of public meetings, HCA Healthcare is responding to allegations of inadequate staffing and poor service at the Mission Health facilities it acquired last year. But even as the company speaks out, nurses from its Asheville hospitals rallied Sunday, […]

A little holiday toy in Christmas lights as an illustration of holiday toys.

Toys to avoid this holiday season

December 19, 2019 by Sarah Ovaska

Toys to avoid this holiday season - North Carolina Health News

Slime, magnetic toys and more on annual list of unsafe toys.

By Sarah Ovaska It’s the time of year when store shelves are groaning with toys and relatives wander through stores, trying to figure out just what would be just right for a 2-year-old niece, grandson or daughter. But not all the toys out there for sale are necessarily safe, with young children particularly at risk […]

Students Learn About Care for NC’s Underserved

July 27, 2016 by Editor

Students Learn About Care for NC’s Underserved - North Carolina Health News

Founded by medical students, the MedServe program allows recent college graduates to work in clinics for underserved North Carolina communities. By Minali Nigam Before being accepted into UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine and working toward a dual degree in medicine and business, Patrick O’Shea worked with Teach for America where he spent two years […]

Hendersonville Program Reduces Health Care Spending

February 7, 2013 by Rose Hoban

Hendersonville Program Reduces Health Care Spending - North Carolina Health News

The Bridges to Health makes emergency room ‘frequent fliers’ healthier while reducing visits to the hospital. By Nancy Wang Go to any hospital emergency department on a weekday afternoon and you’ll most likely see variations of the same sight: patients outnumbering doctors and beds. Some of those waiting will ultimately get admitted to the hospital […]

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