meals on wheels

Millie Veasey stands in the doorway of her home, a smiling man in the doorway looks in. Some programs such as these are not getting as much support because of the budget standoff.

Some NC senior services left in the dust after budget feud between governor, legislature

February 19, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith

Some NC senior services left in the dust after budget feud between governor, legislature - North Carolina Health News

Advocates for older people in North Carolina were looking forward to some long-sought victories in funding for aging services. But a budget standoff nixed some of those priorities.

By Thomas Goldsmith Brad Allen runs Senior Games events in 52 North Carolina locations on a little less than $500,000 a year, but last year, as the group’s CEO, he had every reason to think there was an extra $125,000 coming from state coffers. However, when the General Assembly and Gov. Roy Cooper butted heads […]

Four people on a panel on stage, flanked by Congress banners

We know what you did this summer

September 10, 2019 by Yen Duong

We know what you did this summer - North Carolina Health News

Members of Congress return to Washington, D.C. from their August recess today. We asked N.C.’s Congressional delegation if they had addressed any health care-related issues in their home districts during the break.

By Yen Duong Since early August, most members of Congress have been back in their home districts for the annual summer recess, and they head back to Washington, D.C. this week. Summer is a traditional time for lawmakers to leave Congress behind, and get in touch with constituents. Many hold town halls, tour public works […]

two people place bananas and plastic bags into coolers

Gov. Cooper mostly nixes any additional spending on aging services

March 8, 2019 by Thomas Goldsmith

Gov. Cooper mostly nixes any additional spending on aging services - North Carolina Health News

In his $25 billion-plus budget plan, Gov. Roy Cooper ignored proposals that would have boosted spending on services for Adult Protective Services, increased the living allowance for North Carolinians in long-term care and offered more support to family caregivers.

By Thomas Goldsmith A trim of the thousands of older people’s names on waiting lists for Meals on Wheels and in-home care. A helping hand to an underfunded Adult Protective Services system. A boost in the stretched allowances meant to cover personal needs of North Carolina’s long-term care residents. These were among initiatives that advocates […]

a woman on the right talks to a man standing behind a desk to the left of the photo

With little budget leeway, advocates bring growing needs of older NC residents to NCGA

March 1, 2019 by Thomas Goldsmith

With little budget leeway, advocates bring growing needs of older NC residents to NCGA - North Carolina Health News

Advocates for older people arrived at the General Assembly bearing a list of needs but also knowing that new funding will be hard to nail down.

By Thomas Goldsmith The 65-plus population in North Carolina will keep growing like daffodils after a wet spring, no matter what the General Assembly chooses to do. That’s the message about ongoing demographic shifts that advocates for older people took to the legislature as work on the biennial budget begins in earnest. By 2037, North […]

An elderly man in his house's doorway holding a poinsettia, chatting with an elderly woman in a coat outside.

Friendship Trays fills a niche in Charlotte’s support system

January 11, 2019 by Yen Duong

Friendship Trays fills a niche in Charlotte’s support system - North Carolina Health News

Charlotte’s main Meals on Wheels program, Friendship Trays, brings nutritious meals to people who cannot prepare their own and serves as part of a social support network.

By Yen Duong Lucy Bush Carter remembers one man’s 98th birthday well. One of her volunteer drivers for Friendship Trays, Charlotte’s Meals on Wheels program, called her to say “I’m pretty sure he’s on the dining room floor,” Carter recalled. “By the time I got there, the firemen and all the first responders were standing […]

an older African American man in glasses, a sweatshirt and a baseball cap looks at the camera

Trusted Local Nonprofit Fills Needs in Florence-bashed New Bern

October 24, 2018 by Thomas Goldsmith

Trusted Local Nonprofit Fills Needs in Florence-bashed New Bern - North Carolina Health News

Religious Community Services helps storm survivors put their lives back together after the storm, as it has after prior hurricanes.

By Thomas Goldsmith A visitor to New Bern could exit the traditionally elegant Tryon Palace and proceed less than a mile down George Street to the neighborhood that’s home to Religious Community Services. For more than three decades, the nonprofit agency has engaged in a different sort of New Bern tradition, addressing the generational poverty […]

Shows an older man in a checked shirt and baseball cap looking straight at the camera

Faith, Neighbors, Governments Team to Aid Recovery of Florence Survivors

October 11, 2018 by Thomas Goldsmith

Faith, Neighbors, Governments Team to Aid Recovery of Florence Survivors - North Carolina Health News

A friend, a pastor, a FEMA dwelling — all could help in recovery from Florence. Surviving such a storm takes both tangibles and intangibles.

By Thomas Goldsmith At first, Arthur Sargent, 83, of Fairmont, downplayed the trouble he and wife Doris went through when Hurricane Florence dumped torrents of rain on their Robeson County home. After all, their house escaped flooding, he told a reporter last week, but there was some inconvenience, he conceded. “With all the water around […]

Medicare Advantage to Pay For Community-Based Help

August 30, 2018 by Thomas Goldsmith

Medicare Advantage to Pay For Community-Based Help - North Carolina Health News

Medicare is expanding the types of aid to older people that will qualify for reimbursement — beyond strictly medical services.

By Thomas Goldsmith At a senior center in Asheboro, people dealing with diabetes can learn ways to manage the condition — from healthy eating to stress management — and have Medicare foot the bill. These diabetes self-management classes, each two and a half hours, require significant work on the part of attendees, said Laura Plunkett, […]

State Funding Lags as NC Seniors Face Threat of Hunger

May 29, 2018 by Thomas Goldsmith

State Funding Lags as NC Seniors Face Threat of Hunger - North Carolina Health News

A new study finds one in five North Carolinians older than 65 feels the threat of hunger; placing the state second worst in the nation in the category. But the new state budget doesn’t include extra funding to address hunger for the state’s growing share of senior population.

By Thomas Goldsmith One in five North Carolinians older than 60 lives under the threat of hunger; placing the state second worst in the nation in the category, a new survey says. However, the growing reality of hunger among older North Carolinians didn’t get a response in the accelerated drafting of the state budget, despite […]

shows a street sign reading, "Watch for Senior Citizens"

As NC Ages, You Can Help the State Plan

May 10, 2018 by Thomas Goldsmith

As NC Ages, You Can Help the State Plan - North Carolina Health News

Every five years, North Carolina is required by the federal government to devise a plan to meet the needs of its burgeoning older population. At aging-policy listening sessions through June 27, people have chances to speak up on what older people need from the state and others.

By Thomas Goldsmith North Carolina is making plans to address some of the alarming changes predicted for the state’s rapidly growing population of older people. Those who work in the field of aging describe long waiting lists for services chronically short of funds, retirees seeking scarce accessible housing to replace family homes with too many […]

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