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hospice

Masked male dentist and masked female hygienist drill inside a patients mouth

This dentist and his teams come to their patients. Their focus is special needs populations.

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This dentist and his teams come to their patients. Their focus is special needs populations. - North Carolina Health News

Bill Milner of Access Dental Care has a mobile dentistry fleet for the elderly, HIV patients, people with autism and other special needs.

By Anne Blythe As Bill Milner pulled disposable green medical gloves onto his hands, the man in the dental chair beside him offered a preview of what the dentist was about to see inside his mouth. A front tooth was gone, and it just might have been lost to an altercation, the patient said. “Did […]

graphic of a hands touching on a ipad with body parts shown on it

Mental health providers, others ask for delay to electronic health record requirement

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Mental health providers, others ask for delay to electronic health record requirement - North Carolina Health News

June 1 is the date for many psychiatrists, counselors, drug treatment centers and others to be hooked up to the state’s health information exchange.

By Rose Hoban As North Carolina quickly moves toward transforming Medicaid from a state-paid system to one run by managed care companies, lawmakers have been pushing providers to get their health records into electronic form. Now, as deadlines loom, some of those providers are pushing back. While most hospital systems and large clinics and physician […]

shows two people holding hands

Choices for End-of-life Require Conversation, Paperwork

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Choices for End-of-life Require Conversation, Paperwork - North Carolina Health News

North Carolinians should get their wishes down on paper before a life-threatening crisis hits, according to professionals in medicine, law and government. The state provides four key documents to accomplish those goals.

By Thomas Goldsmith A team of emergency technicians rushes into a North Carolina home where someone has had a stroke and is near death, someone who has said she doesn’t want to undergo resuscitation when at this point. Nonetheless, emergency workers try to bring her back to life, despite her wishes. This situation happens far […]

shows a little boy hugging a little girl who is attached to a ventilator.

New Greensboro Clinic Aims to be Medical Home for Seriously Ill Children

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New Greensboro Clinic Aims to be Medical Home for Seriously Ill Children - North Carolina Health News

The new service will fill the gap left by the closure of KidsPath earlier this month. That service worked with several dozen "medically fragile" children.

By Mark Tosczak Cone Health is launching a new pediatric palliative care clinic to meet the needs of medically fragile children in Guilford County. Most of the clinic’s services will be provided by Cone staff at Cone facilities or in patients’ homes, but that care will be coordinated with some services provided by Hospice and […]

shows opioid pills through the bottom of a pill container

Dying At Home In An Opioid Crisis: Hospice Workers Grapple With Stolen Meds

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Dying At Home In An Opioid Crisis: Hospice Workers Grapple With Stolen Meds - North Carolina Health News

As the nation’s opioid epidemic continues, some experts say hospices aren’t doing enough to identify families and staff who might be stealing pills.

Melissa Bailey Kaiser Health News Nothing seemed to help the patient — and hospice staff didn’t know why. They sent home more painkillers for weeks. But the elderly woman, who had severe dementia and incurable breast cancer, kept calling out in pain. The answer came when the woman’s daughter, who was taking care of her […]

Downtown Marshall, looking across the bridge to the Madison County Courthouse

Advantages of a Rural, Small-town Medical Center

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Advantages of a Rural, Small-town Medical Center - North Carolina Health News

The Hot Springs Health Program is big enough to innovate, but in a town small enough to make it feel like home.

By Taylor Knopf The mountains become steeper and houses fewer as you drive west out of Asheville on U.S. Route 25 and pass the sign that reads, “Welcome to Madison County: Jewel of the Blue Ridge.” The county covers 449 square miles and has about 21,000 residents. There are three small towns: Marshall, Mars Hill […]

Sixty-one pairs of boots lined the walls at the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, to commemorate Indiana soldiers who died before their 22nd birthday.

Exploring and Planning For Death At A New Kind of Festival

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Exploring and Planning For Death At A New Kind of Festival - North Carolina Health News

A “Before I Die” festival urges people to consider their own deaths, in order to make them better. By Jake Harper Side Effects Public Media In sunny patch of grass in the middle of Indianapolis’s Crown Hill Cemetery, 45 people gathered around a large blackboard. The words “Before I die…” were stenciled on the board […]