NC Institute of Medicine

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 […]

We see the back of a man's head and the two women talking to him. The clinic cares for patients in the uninsured gap and racial disparities in access to care.

NC’s uninsured gap 9th highest in the nation

September 23, 2019 by Liora Engel-Smith

NC’s uninsured gap 9th highest in the nation - North Carolina Health News

The state’s uninsured rate remain high, but unchanged, new a report from the U.S. Census shows.

By Liora Engel-Smith For the third year in a row, the number of people without health insurance in North Carolina remained roughly the same, the annual U.S. Census Bureau report released earlier this month shows. More than 1 million North Carolinians — or 10.7 percent — did not have health insurance in all of 2018, […]

shows brightly colored brain scans of patients with dementia and one without dementia

Poor financial skills, exploitation tied to dementia

July 17, 2019 by Thomas Goldsmith

Poor financial skills, exploitation tied to dementia - North Carolina Health News

It's a "soft" sign, but a deteriorating ability to manage finances might be a sign of advancing dementia in older people, researchers found.

By Thomas Goldsmith People in later life have often built up assets that reflect a lifetime of work. They may also be experiencing the build-up of dementia-related plaque deposits in the brain. When both situations happen at once, personal catastrophe can result. New research at Duke University shows that even early stages of Alzheimer’s disease […]

four girls on a swing suspended by chains, they all smile at the camera

Report shows worrisome trend of suicides among N.C. youth increasing

February 22, 2019 by Sarah Ovaska

Report shows worrisome trend of suicides among N.C. youth increasing - North Carolina Health News

An annual report card finds kids dying by suicide at twice the rate of a decade ago, making it second only to motor vehicle accidents as a leading cause of death.

By Sarah Ovaska-Few Child health experts are startled by the steady increase of adolescent suicides in North Carolina, with the state experiencing twice the rate of deaths among older children as it did a decade ago. Suicide is now the second-leading cause of death of children from age 10 to 17, topped only by motor […]

shows the opening web page for the affordable care act marketplace site

Insurance Signups Surprisingly Strong, Yet Number of Uninsured Creeps Up

December 21, 2018 by Rose Hoban

Insurance Signups Surprisingly Strong, Yet Number of Uninsured Creeps Up - North Carolina Health News

Signups on the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplace surged in the last week of enrollment, but that strong showing masks some reductions in coverage.

By Rose Hoban It seemed like this year’s Affordable Care Act open enrollment was going to be lackluster, after all, at the end of six weeks of the online marketplace being open, only 236,693 North Carolinians had signed up for health insurance coverage, less than 50 percent of last year’s total. But the last week […]

Sign at a lonely crossroads encouraging enrollment in Obamacare insurance

In the Final Week of Enrollment, Obamacare Marketplace Offers Many Avenues to Getting Insurance

December 12, 2018 by Yen Duong

In the Final Week of Enrollment, Obamacare Marketplace Offers Many Avenues to Getting Insurance - North Carolina Health News

But experts warn that consumers would do well to read the fine print as they choose plans to cover themselves and their family members for 2019.

By Yen Duong and Rose Hoban If you thought an Obamacare plan might cost you too much, think again. In fact, you could pay nothing. As this year’s enrollment period for insurance through the Affordable Care Act draws to a close, advocates are making the point that some plans could actually cost nothing, after tax […]

Generic emergency room/ department entrance photo, with a carport and sign saying "Emergency" No hospital name is visible.

Health Policy Experts Give WalletHub Health Ranking Low Grade

August 14, 2018 by Rose Hoban

Health Policy Experts Give WalletHub Health Ranking Low Grade - North Carolina Health News

Although WalletHub’s report earns lots of headlines, researchers say other reports do a better job of assessing state health care systems.

By Rose Hoban Last week, headlines across North Carolina (and the U.S.) touted a recent “study” from the personal finance website, WalletHub. In Florida, the headline was “Florida Among The 10 Worst States for Health Care,” and in South Carolina, it was “SC Ranks One Of The Worst States For Health Care.” In the one-page […]

a woman receives a certificate and a handshake from another woman. theyr'e standing in front of a projection that reads: Insitute of Medicine "Legislative Health Policy Fellows Reception"

Legislators Get Help Understanding Health Policy from Colleagues Across the Aisle

June 21, 2018 by India Mackinson

Legislators Get Help Understanding Health Policy from Colleagues Across the Aisle - North Carolina Health News

A North Carolina Institute of Medicine course taught a bipartisan group of lawmakers about a variety of health care topics.

By India Mackinson Sixteen members of the General Assembly put aside partisan politics to tackle a complicated issue impacting the lives of North Carolinians every day — health care. The North Carolina Institute of Medicine’s Legislative Health Policy Fellows Program informed and engaged lawmakers in health topics, fostering bipartisan communication about health care, an item […]

man stands at a podium with the state seal on it, flanked by flags,

Governor’s Health Care Budget Emphasizes Medicaid Expansion, Scaling Back Some Tax Breaks

May 11, 2018 by Rose Hoban

Governor’s Health Care Budget Emphasizes Medicaid Expansion, Scaling Back Some Tax Breaks - North Carolina Health News

Cooper's announcement is only the opening act in a multi-part annual budget process. Lawmakers have been crafting their own budgets ahead of next week's short legislative session.

By Rose Hoban Even before Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s team was able to email out a laudatory press release touting “common ground” in his proposed budget for the coming fiscal year, leaders of the Republican-led General Assembly had emailed reporters their own release, rejecting the governor’s plan and calling it an “unserious attempt to score […]

NC Chamber: Health Information Systems Could Improve Outcomes, Control Costs

May 8, 2018 by Mark Tosczak

NC Chamber: Health Information Systems Could Improve Outcomes, Control Costs - North Carolina Health News

The business community calls for more transparency of health care pricing and costs, and for more certainty in the price of covering care for employees.

By Mark Tosczak The North Carolina Chamber of Commerce is pushing to establish comprehensive databases of health care cost information to move the state toward a more efficient health care system. Leaders of the group, which represents some 35,000 businesses employing more than 1.26 million people, say companies are frustrated with the unpredictability of rising […]

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