Veterans Affairs

shows the front of a building with several flags on poles, the American flag is at half staff, as there are dead COVID patients within. A sign in front of the building reads, "Heroes work here"

Coronavirus deaths bring attention to privatized state veterans homes

July 31, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith

Coronavirus deaths bring attention to privatized state veterans homes - North Carolina Health News

As COVID-19 outbreaks moved through North Carolina this year, nursing home residents quickly numbered high among those who became infected. Among that population, 36 North Carolina residents of military service died of the novel coronavirus in state-owned veterans nursing homes managed by a Georgia conglomerate, PruittHealth.

By Thomas Goldsmith and Riley Davis With the federal government footing much of the operations bill, state veterans homes have existed since the Civil War, first to care for homeless survivors of war and those with disabilities. A second wave of soldier’s homes came after World War I. “Prior to World War I, programs for […]

Shows a brick wall with the title, "North Carolina State Veterans Home" and brass plaques on the wall from each of the branches of the U.S. military

Thirty-six veterans die of COVID-19 in NC state veterans nursing homes that a private company has run for 22 years

July 30, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith

Thirty-six veterans die of COVID-19 in NC state veterans nursing homes that a private company has run for 22 years - North Carolina Health News

Since April 21, 36 North Carolina military veterans have died of COVID in state veterans nursing homes managed by the Georgia-based PruittHealth corporation, whose five-year, $207 million contract is up for a second extension in December. In July, state inspectors report, the state veterans home in Salisbury allowed dozens of drive-up visits by relatives, less than three weeks after the center’s 15th resident death from COVID-19.

By Thomas Goldsmith and Riley Davis North Carolina’s state-owned veterans nursing homes became the place where 36 ailing men caught COVID-19, then died, after surviving tours in places such as Pearl Harbor and Korea, according to federal records. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the death totals mean North Carolina ranks third […]

a man stands at a podium with a number of grim faced advocates for Medicaid expansion standing behind him

Legislative mini-session produces little movement on health care issues, despite new call for Medicaid expansion

January 16, 2020 by Rose Hoban

Legislative mini-session produces little movement on health care issues, despite new call for Medicaid expansion - North Carolina Health News

An unlikely coalition of business people, law enforcement and local officials - all conservative - came together Wednesday to criticize the legislature for missing the opportunity to act on Medicaid.

By Rose Hoban By the time he reached Raleigh after six hours of driving, Dale Wiggins was angry that the lawmakers he was coming to see had already skipped town. Wiggins, the chair of the Graham County Board of Commissioners, came to Raleigh Tuesday to speak to legislators about enacting Medicaid expansion. But by the […]

shows three empty hyperbaric oxygen treatment chambers, they look like large tubes that you can lay down in.

A new treatment could benefit vets with PTSD and brain injury, lawmakers want insurers to reimburse for it

July 9, 2019 by Emily Davis

A new treatment could benefit vets with PTSD and brain injury, lawmakers want insurers to reimburse for it - North Carolina Health News

Hyperbaric therapy forces more oxygen into damaged cells. Even as the evidence remains mixed, the NCGA is poised to make the treatment easier to get.

By Emily Davis Veterans who have had brain injuries or are struggling with the effects of trauma may soon have a new treatment option if a new bill making its way through the legislature eventually becomes law. On Tuesday, a Senate Health Care ommittee greenlighted House Bill 50, the North Carolina Veterans Traumatic Brain Injury […]

Middle aged white man with beard and a ball cap does running plank in a gym with his service boxer dog in front of him

A Veteran and His Dog: A Story of Mental Health Recovery

November 12, 2018 by Taylor Knopf

A Veteran and His Dog: A Story of Mental Health Recovery - North Carolina Health News

Quinn, a 4-year-old boxer goes everywhere with Billy DeWalt, keeping him safe, providing him with alerts, acting as a companion and helping him with PTSD.

By Taylor Knopf On Saturday mornings, Billy DeWalt stretches for a workout class at Neuse River Crossfit while his dog, Quinn, sits patiently watching. There are other adaptive athletes in the room. A one-armed athlete works out his remaining shoulder. Meanwhile, a woman with nerve damage lifts weights, despite arm and leg braces. “Everybody should […]

map showing the status of states and their licensure of nurse practitioners. North Carolina falls into one of the red states.

More Nurse Practitioners Now Pursue Residency Programs

July 6, 2018 by Kaiser Health News

More Nurse Practitioners Now Pursue Residency Programs - North Carolina Health News

The year-long residencies give newly graduated nurse practitioners extra time with complicated patients and extra time to hone their skills after completing academic training.

By Michelle Andrews Kaiser Health News The patient at the clinic was in his 40s and had lost both his legs to Type 1 diabetes. He had mental health and substance abuse problems and was taking large amounts of opioids to manage pain. He was assigned to Nichole Mitchell, who in 2014 was a newly […]

shows an older woman in judge's robes talking to a man with his back to the camera. He's wearing an orange prison jumpsuit.

Veterans Treatment Court Gives Vets a Second Chance

November 20, 2017 by Taylor Knopf

Veterans Treatment Court Gives Vets a Second Chance - North Carolina Health News

A Harnett County court leads the way in treating veterans who have low-level charges at getting their lives back on track.

By Taylor Knopf As offenders came before district court Judge Jacquelyn Lee on Wednesday, she asked if they would be going somewhere for Thanksgiving and who in the family would cook the turkey. To one, she asked to see photos of his baby, born the week before. Everyone from the district attorney to the judge […]

shows the back of a man wearing a bandanna with information about the veteran crisis line on it.

VA Wants to Reduce High U.S. Veteran Suicide Rate

November 8, 2017 by Taylor Knopf

VA Wants to Reduce High U.S. Veteran Suicide Rate - North Carolina Health News

Saturday is Veterans Day and the Dept. of Veterans Affairs is promoting #BeThere, a new campaign to fight veteran suicide.

By Taylor Knopf Every day, 20 veterans take their own lives somewhere in the United States. In North Carolina, five veterans die by suicide each week. This is a growing problem. Since 2001, the rate of suicide among veterans has increased by 32 percent, according the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Reducing the number […]

For Rural Veterans, New Approaches to Health Care

August 24, 2017 by Pew Trusts

For Rural Veterans, New Approaches to Health Care - North Carolina Health News

After deployment, rural residents are more to go back to towns where there are not a lot of health care services.

By Jen Fifield Stateline REDWATER, Texas — On this long drive, across two state lines and endless fields of corn and cattle, Lynn Graham thinks about how it may be the quality of life, not the quantity, that matters. Graham, 55, has stage 4 liver and colon cancer. It is an 85-mile drive, cutting through […]

Health Bills Moving Quickly Ahead of Legislative Deadline

April 26, 2017 by Taylor Knopf

Health Bills Moving Quickly Ahead of Legislative Deadline - North Carolina Health News

In order to keep bills alive, lawmakers have to get their bills passed through at one chamber of the General Assembly - either the House or the Senate - before midnight Thursday. That means packed committee meetings and late evenings.

N.C. veterans with PTSD could receive lesser sentences under proposed law By Taylor Knopf and Rose Hoban Legislation that could lessen criminal sentences for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) breezed through a judiciary committee and then a floor vote in the state House of Representatives on Tuesday. House Bill 483 would allow a judge […]

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