NC Department of Health and Human Services

We see a paper death certificate, the envelope it came in, and the squiggly handwriting of the certifier, laid against a wood-paneled floor.

Why is NC delayed in reporting COVID-19 death data? It’s about death certificates.

September 18, 2020 by Hannah Critchfield 3 Comments

Why is NC delayed in reporting COVID-19 death data? It’s about death certificates. - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina is one of just three states to still use a paper-based system for its official death documents. Because of it, the state lags in its official COVID-19 deaths reporting.

By Hannah Critchfield How many people have died of COVID-19 in North Carolina? Consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, and you’ll get one answer. Ask the state’s health department, you’ll get a death count of almost 1,000 more people. Why the discrepancy? The CDC data relies on each […]

man stands amid a crowd of people taking notes and holding microphones

Large swaths of NC voters favor Medicaid expansion, poll shows

September 10, 2020 by Rose Hoban 2 Comments

Large swaths of NC voters favor Medicaid expansion, poll shows - North Carolina Health News

Majorities of Republicans and Democrats supported the policy in a recent Care4Carolina poll, even after hearing arguments against the change.

By Rose Hoban Large majorities of voters in North Carolina favor the state adopting a policy that would get access to health insurance to more low-income workers, according to a new poll released Wednesday morning. The poll, sponsored by Care4Carolina, an advocacy group pushing for the General Assembly to pass Medicaid expansion, found three-quarters of […]

shows an older woman standing outside, wearing a mask against COVID, her mask reads: Asthma

Coronavirus Today – Sep. 3 – ‘Get Behind the Mask’ and Labor Day; Vaccine by November?; Nursing homes and child care; ‘Dr. Mandy Cohen Day’

September 3, 2020 by Anne Blythe

Coronavirus Today – Sep. 3 – ‘Get Behind the Mask’ and Labor Day; Vaccine by November?; Nursing homes and child care; ‘Dr. Mandy Cohen Day’ - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina launches a public health face mask campaign six months into the coronavirus pandemic.

By Anne Blythe Public health officials want North Carolinians to keep up their guard against COVID-19 over the long Labor Day weekend so the unofficial end of summer won’t be ushered out the way the season was marshaled in. It was not long after Memorial Day and a coinciding easing of the statewide Stay at […]

A child and an adult play together in this photo from a child care center established during the COVID pandemic.

Lawmakers propose regulatory relief during pandemic, advocates worry it goes too far

September 3, 2020 by Rose Hoban

Lawmakers propose regulatory relief during pandemic, advocates worry it goes too far - North Carolina Health News

During this week’s short legislative session, some provisions would reduce regulations around child care programs and senior care.

By Rose Hoban Lawmakers returned to Raleigh this week to appropriate more money for COVID-19 relief. The intention was to allocate close to a billion dollars of federal money sent to North Carolina to address issues created by the pandemic that’s been upending lives for more than half a year. Tucked into the 54-page spending […]

shows the front of the legislative building in Raleigh, general assembly

Lawmakers back in Raleigh to hash out COVID relief funds

September 2, 2020 by Rose Hoban

Lawmakers back in Raleigh to hash out COVID relief funds - North Carolina Health News

In a short budget session, lawmakers are expected to direct more funding to economic needs generated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Rose Hoban North Carolina lawmakers are due back in Raleigh today for what is shaping up to be a short budgetary session, likely made shorter by Congress’s lack of action on coronavirus funding. When lawmakers were last in town, they appropriated $1.5 billion in funding that had been sent to the state as a […]

shows men working out in a crowded gym with many freeweights.

Coronavirus Today – Sep. 1 – Return to gyms, museums, yoga and dance studios; Outdoor nursing home visits; Cautious optimism about NC trends, metrics

September 1, 2020 by Anne Blythe

Coronavirus Today – Sep. 1 – Return to gyms, museums, yoga and dance studios; Outdoor nursing home visits; Cautious optimism about NC trends, metrics - North Carolina Health News

As NC trends and metrics show stability and improvement, Gov. Roy Cooper allows gyms, bowling alleys and fitness centers to open again.

By Anne Blythe North Carolina fitness centers and gyms have largely been closed for the past six months because the state’s public health team has had concerns that COVID-19 can spread more rapidly while people breathe heavily during physical exertion. Gov. Roy Cooper announced on Tuesday that he would ease statewide social distancing restrictions so […]

COVID positive inmates housed alongside uninfected in Pitt County

August 26, 2020 by Hannah Critchfield

COVID positive inmates housed alongside uninfected in Pitt County - North Carolina Health News

Inmates fear catching the virus amid outbreak but say staff is declining to test other inmates in the dorm.

By Hannah Critchfield Dylan’s bunkmate tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. He’s still sleeping right below him. Despite not yet being reported on the Department of Health and Human Services’ website, Pitt County Detention Center currently has an outbreak of the novel coronavirus which has upended the country. COVID-19 has caused 10 deaths in the […]

shows a large envelope with drawings on it, inside the flap are taped four strips of Suboxone wrapped in plastic wrap.

Overdoses are on the rise. Is it time to provide medication assisted treatment in NC prisons?

August 25, 2020 by Hannah Critchfield

Overdoses are on the rise. Is it time to provide medication assisted treatment in NC prisons? - North Carolina Health News

COVID-19 stalled the expansion of medication assisted treatment into NC’s prisons, but the demand for it is just as high -- if not increasing.

By Hannah Critchfield The agency that runs North Carolina’s prisons has a Flickr account. It’s littered with pictures of contraband confiscated from people incarcerated across its 55 facilities: pounds of tobacco, cell phones, marijuana in a shoe. There are also photos of hundreds of Suboxone strips. Suboxone strips aren’t like other illicit drugs — they’re […]

There's sign with red letters that says "Emergency Trauma Center." That sign is near the entrance to the New Hanover Regional Medical Center ER

The first COVID surge weakened NC’s cash-strapped rural hospitals. A second wave may devastate them.

August 24, 2020 by Liora Engel-Smith

The first COVID surge weakened NC’s cash-strapped rural hospitals. A second wave may devastate them. - North Carolina Health News

Elective surgery cancelations in March and April were a blow that the state’s rural medical centers have yet to recover from. Regaining financial footing could take months, even if a second COVID wave never comes, hospital industry executives and advocates say.

By Liora Engel-Smith The cancelation of elective surgeries in early spring left rural hospitals across the state nearly empty and without a major source of revenue. The implications of that financial blow are becoming clearer as health systems release financial disclosure documents from that period. The state and federal government has funneled hundreds and thousands […]

Three signs on a dirt berm encoureaging behavior to prevent COVID

Coronavirus Today – Aug. 19 – Lessons from UNC-CH reversal; remote learning and broadband grants; Testing drop-off and free COVID-19 tests

August 19, 2020 by Anne Blythe

Coronavirus Today – Aug. 19 – Lessons from UNC-CH reversal; remote learning and broadband grants; Testing drop-off and free COVID-19 tests - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina’s trends and metrics are showing stabilization as college campuses report COVID-19 clusters.

By Anne Blythe and Greg Barnes The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the country’s first public university to open its doors to students, found itself on the trailblazing path again this week. Instead of welcoming students to its classrooms and campus residence halls, the university became the first of the 17 UNC system […]

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