pandemic

Teletherapy in the Age of COVID-19

June 3, 2020 by Melba Newsome Leave a Comment

Teletherapy in the Age of COVID-19 - North Carolina Health News

The mental health crisis brought on by the pandemic has helped speed up the adoption of teletherapy.

By Melba Newsome Maudeb Maybin suffers from PTSD and uses a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy. Part of his overall maintenance plan includes seeing a therapist to help him cope with his depression issues. But just traveling to and from his appointment can take hours. “It was a huge coordination effort to go anywhere, whether […]

red barn on a hillside, next to a field of grass. It's an analogy for rural health or the rural-urban divide.

COVID-19 affected NC’s rural economies long before the first confirmed cases arrived there

June 2, 2020 by Liora Engel-Smith Leave a Comment

COVID-19 affected NC’s rural economies long before the first confirmed cases arrived there - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina’s coronavirus control measures have strained the state’s already weaker rural economies, data from the first wave of unemployment claims shows.

By Liora Engel-Smith In mid-March, the pandemic that now encompasses every county in the state seemed like a decidedly urban problem. As of March 16, North Carolina’s 33 confirmed cases were concentrated in population centers: the Triangle, the greater Charlotte area and micro counties — areas with smaller cities. But even without confirmed cases, rural […]

shows an arm with a catheter lpaced in it, donating blood. A pair of hands draws tubes of blood from the donation site. The photo is used to represent plasma donation to fight COVID-19

This Charlotte physician fought COVID-19. Now, he donates plasma to help others.

June 1, 2020 by Anne Blythe Leave a Comment

This Charlotte physician fought COVID-19. Now, he donates plasma to help others. - North Carolina Health News

As UNC Health, Vidant Health and other NC health care sites engage in convalescent plasma studies, getting and donating the antibody-rich blood component can be a challenge.

By Anne Blythe Nima Eftekhary had heard enough about COVID-19 in March that he pretty much knew when he woke up several months ago with a bad headache, body pains and general malaise that he probably had contracted the coronavirus that had been spreading around the globe. His fiancee had returned from New York recently […]

This 2006 photograph showed a nurse in the process of administering an intramuscular vaccination to an adolescent girl whose sister, mother, and grandmother watched from the background.

Pandemic causes immunization rates to dip

May 27, 2020 by Melba Newsome Leave a Comment

Pandemic causes immunization rates to dip - North Carolina Health News

Fear of being exposed to the coronavirus is contributing to parents skipping child well visits and their vaccinations.

By Melba Newsome When Kim Wilson got pregnant three years ago, she joined an online community group for expectant and new moms. Members shared advice and offered support with few disagreements, except when the discussion turned to immunizations. Wilson recalls some moms being dead set against vaccinating their children, having bought into the debunked reports […]

shows a woman standing at a podium, gesturing with her hands, talking about COVID

Coronavirus Today – May 21 – Rare COVID-related child illness; Tyson plant and Forsyth case jump; pause on NC jury trials

May 21, 2020 by Editor Leave a Comment

Coronavirus Today – May 21 – Rare COVID-related child illness; Tyson plant and Forsyth case jump; pause on NC jury trials - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina is moving cautiously into a new reopening phase as COVID-19 cases increase. Forsyth County has seen a rapid increase in cases.

By North Carolina Health News staff NC reports first case of rare COVID-related illness in children North Carolina reported its first case of a rare multisystem inflammatory disease afflicting children who either have COVID-19 infection or appeared to have recently recovered from an infection. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human […]

How addiction recovery specialists adapted during COVID-19 pandemic

May 20, 2020 by Taylor Knopf 5 Comments

How addiction recovery specialists adapted during COVID-19 pandemic - North Carolina Health News

While some addiction service providers have been forced to cut programs, others have adjusted to the pandemic changes to assist people using drugs and those in early addiction recovery.

By Taylor Knopf In his 20 years at Healing Transitions, Chris Budnick has never turned away someone seeking help. But in late March after three false-positive tests for COVID-19 at the residential addiction recovery program in Raleigh, the program director made the tough call to stop all new admissions to the campuses and overnight detox. […]

shows a facemask used to prevent COVID 19 transmission. It's blue with an outline of the state of North Carolina with the flag colors inside the outline

Coronavirus Today – May 19 – Heated Lincoln County debate; nod to older North Carolinians; Avery County gets first COVID case

May 19, 2020 by Editor 1 Comment

Coronavirus Today – May 19 – Heated Lincoln County debate; nod to older North Carolinians; Avery County gets first COVID case - North Carolina Health News

Pressures mount to reopen restaurants, salons and churches as governor contemplates moving to the next phase.

By North Carolina Health News staff Defiance in Lincoln County A Lincoln County restaurant owner who also is a member of the county board of commissioners opened his restaurant in Vale on Monday in defiance of the governor’s statewide stay-at-home order. Carrol Dean Mitchem was cited by Sheriff Bill Beam for violating Gov. Roy Cooper’s […]

woman sitting at a microphone with an American flag behind her points at the camera as she makes a point about COVID-19

Coronavirus Today – May 13 – Contact tracers in world of spam; antibody tests; virtual tour of Hawaii

May 13, 2020 by Editor

Coronavirus Today – May 13 – Contact tracers in world of spam; antibody tests; virtual tour of Hawaii - North Carolina Health News

As North Carolina increases testing and tracing, contact tracers must overcome hurdles amid spam-call blocking.

By North Carolina Health News staff That number you don’t recognize might be a contact tracer The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a spotlight on many public health jobs for which few across the country ever gave much thought. Epidemiologists and virologists, once known mostly to their colleagues in the science world, have become household names. […]

shows three politicians who are usually at odds on the same dias, they're there in order to sign bills to provide COVID relief

Coronavirus Today – May 12 – Pandemic politics; NC manufacturers help; mental health awareness

May 12, 2020 by Editor

Coronavirus Today – May 12 – Pandemic politics; NC manufacturers help; mental health awareness - North Carolina Health News

Political divides are emerging again during the pandemic slightly more than a week after Republicans and Democrats reached consensus on a relief package.

By North Carolina Health News staff ‘Pandemics cannot be partisan’ Eight days have passed since Republican leaders at the helm of the General Assembly stood side-by-side with Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, to show that the two parties could come together in consensus to support a $1.5 billion pandemic relief package. The harmony was short-lived. […]

shows a woman in a red dress standing behind a podium as she talks about efforts to combat the COVID pandemic

Coronavirus Today – May 11 – Recovered from COVID; churches and outside worship; more SNAP

May 11, 2020 by Editor

Coronavirus Today – May 11 – Recovered from COVID; churches and outside worship; more SNAP - North Carolina Health News

Questions arise about who is recovered from COVID-19, who should get tested and the nuances of governor’s modified order for worship houses.

By North Carolina Health News staff Many recover from COVID-19, but defining who has is difficult Nearly 60 percent of the 15,045 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in North Carolina presumably have recovered from the virus, according to state health officials. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, […]

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