Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center

A woman holds a tiny card with a brush, demonstrating a colorectal cancer screening that can be done at home.

Providers at this NC colon cancer hotspot seek to shrink the screening gap with at-home tests

November 13, 2020 by Liora Engel-Smith

Providers at this NC colon cancer hotspot seek to shrink the screening gap with at-home tests - North Carolina Health News

A health center in Hertford County is screening patients who can’t afford routine colonoscopies with mail-in kits.

By Liora Engel-Smith The envelopes that may hold the key to detecting colorectal cancer early are unremarkable. Slim but large, they could just as easily hold a medical bill or the details of a new insurance policy. Instead, the paper envelopes hold tools that are reminiscent of art supplies: a wand or brushes, maybe a […]

A physician in a white coat is putting a blood pressure cuff on a patient's arm.

An old school doc in the new normal

November 5, 2020 by Liora Engel-Smith

An old school doc in the new normal - North Carolina Health News

Charles Sawyer has been a fixture of medicine in Hertford County for more than half a century. He has no plans of stopping anytime soon.

By Liora Engel-Smith Amaza “Rita” Hall has been to the hospital many times with severe asthma attacks, but there’s one ER run the lifelong asthmatic from Gates County remembers by date: May 19, 1999. Hall, now 73, had been admitted to the hospital yet again. With an oxygen cannula in her nose and an IV […]

Map of loan repayment placements in FY2019

NC’s rural provider shortage persists despite decades of efforts

September 8, 2020 by Liora Engel-Smith

NC’s rural provider shortage persists despite decades of efforts - North Carolina Health News

For the last 40 years, state and federal agencies funneled millions to loan repayment initiatives with the goal of addressing medical provider shortages in rural parts of the state. But access-to-care gaps remain, particularly in the more remote areas.

By Liora Engel-Smith Camden County’s health care workforce is as lean as it comes. There are no psychologists or nurse practitioners in the rural bedroom community in the far northeastern corner of the state. No podiatrists or nurse-midwives. No physician assistants either. The county of roughly 10,000 has one dentist, one hygienist, one pharmacist and […]

A physician in a white coat is sitting in front of a computer to do a virtual appointment via telehealth

COVID breathes life into North Carolina’s rural telehealth, but broadband remains an obstacle

May 14, 2020 by Liora Engel-Smith

COVID breathes life into North Carolina’s rural telehealth, but broadband remains an obstacle - North Carolina Health News

The coronavirus pandemic forced providers to see many of their patients virtually. In rural North Carolina, where the broadband infrastructure is lacking, that transition can be challenging.

By Liora Engel-Smith Though he doesn’t see patients face-to-face these days, Dr. Charles Sawyer still carries his prescription pad. The 87-year-old doesn’t often write prescriptions by hand anymore, but there’s something about the familiar feel of the pad in his coat pocket, he said. Sawyer, a primary care physician at Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center, […]

Test for coronavirus (COVID-19) in padded box. Aside from handwashing and social distancing, there aren't many specific measures for coronavirus.

NC health centers ramp up COVID-19 outreach to vulnerable patients

March 9, 2020 by Liora Engel-Smith

NC health centers ramp up COVID-19 outreach to vulnerable patients - North Carolina Health News

As coronavirus spreads across the nation, health centers across the state are racing to educate some of their most vulnerable patients.

By Liora Engel-Smith As the state contends with its second COVID-19 case, this one in Chatham County, North Carolina’s community health centers are stepping up their outreach to some of the most vulnerable members of every community: the uninsured and medically fragile. By recent count, more than a million North Carolinians lacked health insurance. About […]

A doctor and patient in a community health center

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

December 11, 2019 by Liora Engel-Smith

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 […]

shows signs advertising rural broadband at a lonely rural crossroads. Broadband is necessary for better telehealth penetration in NC's rural burgs.

Rural Broadband Needs Highlighted at Legislature

March 22, 2018 by Rose Hoban

Rural Broadband Needs Highlighted at Legislature - North Carolina Health News

Rural mayors argue that broadband access is needed to improve education, economic development and healthcare access. They're asking legislators to make it easier for them to partner with telecom companies to get broadband to more areas of the state lacking services.

By Rose Hoban When William Pitt gets an EMS call, it comes to his phone in the form of a readout printed in red lettering on a black background. “This is actually showing me which station is responding to the call, where the location is, the cross streets,” said Pitt, who’s been a volunteer first […]

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

CDC report details health disparities between rural minorities

November 28, 2017 by Taylor Knopf

CDC report details health disparities between rural minorities - North Carolina Health News

Health disparities exist between all types of demographic groups, with many contributing factors such as ethnicity, income, education and where you live.

By Taylor Knopf For years, studies have pointed out the gaps between rural and urban communities when it comes to health outcomes. But there are also significant health divides between ethnicities within rural America, according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. Though urban areas still have more diverse populations, the study […]

“Distracted” Lawmakers Overlook Clinic, Children’s Health Bills

September 25, 2017 by Rose Hoban

“Distracted” Lawmakers Overlook Clinic, Children’s Health Bills - North Carolina Health News

Although all the action on Capitol Hill in Washington seems to be about repealing the Affordable Care Act, there are a number of vital health care bills on a short deadline.

By Rose Hoban Even as health care advocates worry about whether the most recent Obamacare “repeal and replace” legislation moving through Congress has a chance at passage, leaders at the state’s community and rural health centers are worried about the absence of bills that could seal their fates. Kim Schwartz, CEO of the Roanoke Chowan […]

photo of crowd holding signs with the US Capitol in the background

Rural Providers, Advocates Worry Over Graham-Cassidy