By Rachel Crumpler Evan Ashkin, a family physician and director of the North Carolina Formerly Incarcerated Transition Program, has long been concerned about people who are returning to the community from prison — especially people with substance use disorders. Nearly 80 percent of people entering North Carolina state prisons need treatment for substance use disorder, […]

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By Michelle Crouch Co-published with The Charlotte Ledger The board that oversees Atrium Health attracted an unusually rowdy crowd Tuesday afternoon as protestors from two groups packed the room with signs and medical equipment, and a man who tried to speak was escorted out by police. It was a stark contrast to typical Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority […]

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By Ellie Kollme UNC Media Hub Dr. Amir Barzin, a family medicine physician and the chief operating officer at UNC Health, starts each morning with a solitary run to clear his mind before the day begins. The routine, he said, helps him manage the daily pressures of working in health care — pressures that many […]

The post ‘You remember the ones you couldn’t help’: Doctors reflect on burnout, the emotional cost of care appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Taylor Knopf Six years ago, Jami Mundy was released from the Richmond County jail. She said she didn’t want to use drugs anymore. The previous year, she had overdosed nine times, and she wanted a better life for herself and her then-12-year-old daughter. With few places to go, Mundy ended up at the Richmond […]

The post The rescue mission at the heart of NC’s opioid crisis — and the money it can’t reach appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Jaymie Baxley  North Carolina is seeking $1 billion from the federal government for a wide-ranging plan that could reshape rural health care across the state. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services hopes to secure the funding through the Rural Health Transformation Program, an initiative created under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act […]

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By Michelle Crouch  Co-published with The Charlotte Ledger Advocate Health CEO Gene Woods’ compensation surged to $25.8 million in 2024, a 49 percent jump from the $17.3 million he earned the previous year, according to a recent tax filing (see full IRS form 990 at the bottom of the page). Woods’ total pay leading the […]

The post Gene Woods, CEO of Atrium Health’s parent company, gets a 49% pay boost, to $25.8 million appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Ashley Fredde Since she was a child volunteering at soup kitchens and food pantries with her parents, Maggie Kane has carried a question: “Why was I on this side? Why am I so lucky?”  The invisible line that separated those who served and those who received inspired her to create a space where no […]

The post Raleigh café builds community through shared meals appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Ashley Fredde The cracks in North Carolina’s safety nets are widening under the compounding pressure of a months-long budget stalemate, and that’s putting the state’s most vulnerable residents at risk of falling through. That was the message delivered to Democratic members of the North Carolina state Senate last Wednesday. The public hearing at the […]

The post NC budget stalemate deepens strain on safety nets, health system, advocates and providers say appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Michelle Crouch Co-published with The Charlotte Ledger A chorus of speakers on Tuesday urged Mecklenburg County commissioners to use their limited leverage to ensure Atrium Health delivers on the affordable housing it promised when it won $75M in taxpayer funding for its medical innovation district, The Pearl. “I want to talk to you about the broken promises at […]

The post Calls grow for Mecklenburg County to enforce Atrium’s housing promises appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Will Atwater Fifteen days after Tropical Storm Helene sent debris, runoff and a cocktail of toxins — including raw sewage and pharmaceuticals — pouring into the French Broad River in the fall of 2024, Shea Tuberty set out to investigate the damage. The storm had carved an improbable path from the Florida Gulf Coast […]

The post ‘Toxic Soup’: PFAS and other contaminants surged in French Broad River after Helene, study finds appeared first on North Carolina Health News.