school health

Steve North and Amanda Martin of the Center for Rural Health Innovation, which administers the Spruce Pine-based MY Health-e-Schools program.

School-based health centers fill rural provider vacuum

November 17, 2020 by Melba Newsome 1 Comment

School-based health centers fill rural provider vacuum - North Carolina Health News

Making healthcare available to students, faculty and staff on campus is vital to well-being in rural areas.

By Melba Newsome Growing up in a small town in central Wisconsin, many of Steve North’s relatives and friends assumed he would follow his father into medicine but North had other ideas. He earned a liberal arts degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1993 but, instead of applying for medical school, he applied for […]

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

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 […]

a little boy drinks at a water fountain that appears to be in the hallway of a school. Children are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure, and they can get it through drinking contaminated water.

Lawmaker will again attempt to get lead out of water in schools, daycare centers

January 24, 2019 by Greg Barnes

Lawmaker will again attempt to get lead out of water in schools, daycare centers - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina does not test for lead in drinking water in schools and child care centers. State Rep. Harry Warren hopes to change that soon.

By Greg Barnes Parents of students at Red Oak Elementary School in Nash County were never notified after federal officials found excessive levels of lead in the school’s water in July 2015. Instead, school administrators posted a notice on a brick wall in the school’s kitchen. Under state law, it was the only notification they […]

shows an empty hallway, lined with lockers, blue on one side, yellow on the other side

School Safety Committee Considers Mental Health Needs in Recommendations

April 24, 2018 by Rose Hoban

School Safety Committee Considers Mental Health Needs in Recommendations - North Carolina Health News

A mental health working group met for the second time this week and made recommendations on staffing, licensure and programs, but didn’t commit to funding.

By Rose Hoban After two hearings, a subcommittee dedicated to looking at what mental health supports North Carolina students need to increase school safety is recommending increased staffing to address mental and behavioral health needs in the state’s schools. But the money to address those problems and hire staff was lacking from their recommendation. Formed […]

photo shows national guard member leading civilian throughflood waters to a waiting truck

Low-wealth Schools Find New Ways to Deal with Student Trauma

December 21, 2017 by Taylor Knopf

Low-wealth Schools Find New Ways to Deal with Student Trauma - North Carolina Health News

In Edgecombe County, educators are learning about how traumatic childhood experiences could impede learning in their students, and how they can help.

By Taylor Knopf As Hurricane Matthew stalled over the eastern part of North Carolina in October 2016, large parts of Edgecombe County were inundated. The storm damaged about 3,500 buildings across the county and at least 250 filled with more than four feet of water. Thousands were displaced from their homes and forced into makeshift […]

Middle-schoolers Cassidy Ward and DeAndre Foote consider soft drink options.

Kids Find Their Own Way to Healthy Living

September 1, 2015 by Editor

Kids Find Their Own Way to Healthy Living - North Carolina Health News

A program to help middle-schoolers find their own way toward healthy food choices is finding success. This story was originally published in February 2012, but has been updated with new information. By Taylor Sisk When you’re a seventh-grader, the world is your oyster. Or maybe it’s your carrot stick. But more probably, it’s your Twix. […]

Durham student food service director James Keaten made the point that kids only have an average of 13 minutes scheduled to get in line, get their trays filled, sit down and eat their lunches in most schools. Photo shows a handwritten sign reading "13 minutes to eat"

Confronting the Childhood Hunger Amidst the Plenty

August 4, 2015 by Editor

Confronting the Childhood Hunger Amidst the Plenty - North Carolina Health News

Members of the Durham community came together last week to brainstorm how to help the hungry children around them. By Rose Hoban There are 34,000 kids in Durham Public Schools, the majority of whom are eligible for federally funded free or reduced-price lunch. Jim Keaten, who directs food programs for the district, told that to […]

Makayla Lewis, daughter of Megan Lewis, plays with some broccoli.

School-Garden Advocates Hoping for Connection to Improved Child Health

July 7, 2015 by Brenda Porter-Rockwell

School-Garden Advocates Hoping for Connection to Improved Child Health - North Carolina Health News

Some educators believe getting kids to work in school gardens helps them eat more vegetables, even as they’re waiting for research to confirm a connection. By Brenda Porter-Rockwell Megan Lewis wanted to see kids get more hands-on when it came to school science curriculums. Rather than sticking a potato in a cup of water and […]

Schools/Health Bills Cruise through N.C. House

April 22, 2015 by Editor

Schools/Health Bills Cruise through N.C. House - North Carolina Health News

As a legislative deadline draws near, lawmakers move a group of bills to help school children stay healthier. By Rose Hoban With a major legislative deadline approaching on April 30, lawmakers in the House of Representatives have been acting quickly to move bills addressing health and schools through committee and floor votes. After hearing a […]

School-based Telehealth: A New Approach to Improved Outcomes in Rural NC Counties

January 21, 2015 by Editor

School-based Telehealth: A New Approach to Improved Outcomes in Rural NC Counties - North Carolina Health News

The Center for Rural Health Innovation reaches out to students via teleconference in three Western North Carolina counties.

By Taylor Sisk It was the teacher in Steve North who connected the dots. North, a Wisconsin native, was fated, it would seem, to be a doctor. His father was one, and folks always said he himself had what it takes to be a good one. But the instinct to serve led him first in […]

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