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Pender County

four scientists sit at a table where they discuss water pollution

Not all in-home water filters completely remove toxic PFAS

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Not all in-home water filters completely remove toxic PFAS - North Carolina Health News

A new study finds that under-the-sink reverse osmosis systems work best at removing “forever chemicals,” but they aren’t cheap.

By Greg Barnes Not all types of in-home filters are completely effective at removing “forever chemicals” from drinking water, and a few could do more harm than good if not properly maintained, according to a new study released Wednesday by North Carolina researchers. Water filters in refrigerators, pitcher-style filters, under the sink reverse osmosis systems […]

A faucet with water flowing from it, as an illustration for drinking water contamination, with substances such as 1,4 dioxane and PFAS

New DEQ data show ‘staggering’ levels of PFAS in Cape Fear River basin

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New DEQ data show ‘staggering’ levels of PFAS in Cape Fear River basin - North Carolina Health News

The DEQ required 25 utilities in the basin to test for “forever chemicals” at their sewer treatment plants for three months. One scientist called the results of those tests “incredibly high.”

By Greg Barnes A water sample taken in September from the Sanford sewage treatment plant that discharges into Deep River uncovered “staggering” concentrations of forever chemicals, newly released documents from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality reveal. The sample contained perfluorooctanesulfonic acid — or PFOS — measuring 1,000 parts per trillion. That is more than […]

Water over a flooded road looks like a river

Youth voices from North Carolina’s hurricanes – Part 2

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Youth voices from North Carolina’s hurricanes – Part 2 - North Carolina Health News

NC Health News worked with Wilmington-based Coastal Youth Media to hold a workshop this fall with a group of young people from southeastern counties. Journalists and community organizers worked with these high school students to help them write essays on how they and their families made it through 2018's Hurricane Florence. For this holiday week, we present their stories.

Worry, relief, heartbreak. All in one storm. By Shecoria Smith When I heard the rain, I worried most about my dad. He had traveled across the country to California for work in the days before the hurricane. I thought it would be months before I saw him again. A few days later those worried feelings […]

A doctor and patient in a community health center

Community health centers are again on the brink of federal funding lapse

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Community health centers are again on the brink of federal funding lapse - North Carolina Health News

The federal budget -- and with it funding for community health centers -- is set to lapse on Dec. 21.

By Liora Engel-Smith Across North Carolina, community health centers are contending with what has become an unpleasant tradition: planning for a potential federal funding lapse. The nation’s safety net clinics — 250 of which are in North Carolina — serve thousands of uninsured and underinsured patients and enjoy bipartisan support. But a battle between Congress […]

A bouquet of orange and red wrappers with condoms are visible. Condoms are one way to prevent the transmission of HIV.

In rural Southeastern NC, ‘one stop shop’ keeps HIV-positive patients healthy

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In rural Southeastern NC, ‘one stop shop’ keeps HIV-positive patients healthy - North Carolina Health News

To explore a reader question about successful programs that address social determinants of health, NC Health News visited a program for HIV-positive people that ventures beyond the confines of traditional healthcare to keep patients out of the hospital.

By Liora Engel-Smith When Christopher Jones was thinking of going back to school for his bachelor’s degree, he shot a text to staff at the clinic where he gets his medical care to ask for advice. The Cumberland County resident knew he couldn’t keep his full-time job and go to school at the same time. […]

Shows two women in a lab, manipulating tools in order to test water samples, which are arranged on the tabletop

North Carolina not among states getting federal grants to study PFAS exposure on health

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North Carolina not among states getting federal grants to study PFAS exposure on health - North Carolina Health News

Environmental group says the state wasn’t awarded a grant because it failed to apply. State DHHS says the grant “was not appropriate” as a research study.

By Greg Barnes North Carolina is not among seven states that will be awarded federal grant funding to conduct health studies on people in specific communities who have been drinking water contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS. The reason: North Carolina, which is said to have the third-worst PFAS contamination in the […]

shows three people behind a table with microphones, they're each standing and raising their right hands before they testify about PFAS

Chemical company execs come under fire at congressional hearing on PFAS

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Chemical company execs come under fire at congressional hearing on PFAS - North Carolina Health News

For the first time, executives from Chemours, DuPont and 3M were called before a U.S. House environmental oversight committee to discuss their accountability in the PFAS contamination plaguing North Carolina and the country.

By Greg Barnes Near the end of a congressional hearing last week, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz grilled executives of the 3M, DuPont and Chemours chemical companies about their willingness to compensate people harmed by fluorinated compounds. The hearing, before a U.S. House subcommittee on environmental oversight and reform, was the third in a series amid […]

Two glass vials that say "Naloxone HCL" and two wrapped syringes rest on a metal shelf at a needle exchange facility. In the background is a paper instructions on using the medication to reverse an opioid overdose

N.C. efforts to reduce opioid dependency highlighted in national report

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N.C. efforts to reduce opioid dependency highlighted in national report - North Carolina Health News

The American Medical Association published a national analysis of state policies fighting the opioid epidemic. It highlighted North Carolina’s Project OBOT and work by the N.C. Division of Public Health, and also called for Medicaid expansion.

By Yen Duong In a national report subtitled “Leading-edge Practices and Next Steps,” the American Medical Association and consulting firm Manatt Health highlighted a North Carolina Medical Society initiative to support providers treating opioid use disorder. Project OBOT, short for office-based opioid treatment, helps North Carolina providers get trained to prescribe medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to […]

shows the night view of the east coast with a large cyclone cloud almost parallel to southern North Carolina

Keep up with how Hurricane Dorian is affecting health in NC

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Keep up with how Hurricane Dorian is affecting health in NC - North Carolina Health News

Throughout the day Thursday, we'll be posting news and information to help you navigate your way safely through Hurricane Dorian.

By Greg Barnes, Anne Blythe, Yen Duong, Thomas Goldsmith, Rose Hoban 4:45 p.m.- Follow-up story posted with farmer “I’m not complaining, but maybe it’s time for me to do something else,” said farmer Jody Clemmons in this story, a preliminary look at the effects of Dorian on N.C. farmers: Hurricane Dorian thrashes farmer’s tobacco crop. […]

A county by county map of US colored to show opioid death risk, including access to medication-assisted treatment

Forty-one N.C. counties classified as “high risk” in new opioid study

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Forty-one N.C. counties classified as “high risk” in new opioid study - North Carolina Health News

In a national study, researchers classified 41 North Carolina counties as “opioid high-risk” with few providers of medication-assisted treatment and many opioid-related deaths.

By Yen Duong While conversations about the national opioid epidemic often focus on hardest-hit states such as Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky, few people have analyzed county-by-county trends, where those state’s policies can make a difference. But a new study, published last month in an open-access version of the Journal of the American Medical Association, […]