By Fred Clasen-Kelly KFF Health News CHATHAM COUNTY — Despite being in one of the nation’s fastest-growing states, this rural county of roughly 85,000 people is still brimming with red foxes, coyotes, white-tailed deer, and wild turkeys. But in recent months, Enbridge Gas North Carolina’s proposed plans for a natural gas pipeline have exposed how […]

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By Will Atwater Key takeaways: “Displace fossil fuels. Grow more trees. Fight climate change.” That’s the pitch on the website of Enviva, the world’s largest producer of industrial wood pellets largely used as fuel for power generation. Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, says on its website that its projects capture methane from hog […]

The post ‘Clean’ energy, local costs: Advocates challenge bioenergy’s climate claims appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

Key takeaways: By Michelle Crouch When Atrium Health CEO Gene Woods first visited Atrium Health’s behavioral health hospital on Randolph Road in Charlotte 10 years ago, the facility was already in need of an upgrade. “The building was showing its age then, and it is certainly showing its age now,” he recalled Thursday. Woods, who […]

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Key Takeaways:  By Taylor Knopf When John Pendzich, 27, moved out of a group home for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and into his studio apartment in downtown Raleigh, his life opened up. He got a job bagging groceries at Harris Teeter. There’s a YMCA around the corner where he likes to work out. […]

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Key Takeaways:  By Michelle Crouch As North Carolina hospitals jockey for position in an increasingly competitive health care market, Duke Health is hoping to make another big move into Charlotte. The Durham-based health system announced Wednesday that it’s teaming up with Gastonia-based CaroMont Health to seek state approval to build two new hospitals in Mecklenburg […]

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By Rose Hoban Fall leaves are starting to turn, and school is in full swing. That means respiratory infections are about to tick up, and it’s the time of year when health care providers talk to their patients about vaccinations.  This year, though, the topic seems even more fraught. A lot of mixed messaging is […]

The post What to know about childhood vaccines this year: A Q&A with a trusted pediatrician. appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

Key takeaways: By Jaymie Baxley Two North Carolina congressional representatives — a Republican and a Democrat — have teamed up on federal legislation meant to recruit and retain doctors, nurses and other health care workers in rural communities. U.S. Reps. Pat Harrigan (R-10) and Don Davis (D-1) say the bill, which they’ve dubbed the REACH […]

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Key takeaways: By Ashley Fredde Three North Carolina legal aid organizations are suing state legislative leaders over a budget provision that redirects millions of dollars from programs that provide low-income residents with free civil legal services to attorneys who represent people who cannot afford a lawyer in criminal cases.  “The $15 million per year that […]

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By Bria Maddox EdNC A statewide poll recently found that North Carolina voters across political parties view childcare as both an affordability issue for families and a workforce issue for the state. Conducted by WNC Early Childhood Coalition and First Five Years Fund, the poll also found broad support for state and federal investment in […]

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By Elisabeth Rosenthal  KFF Health News As Americans grow increasingly frustrated with their healthcare system, a proposal that has long been kicked around on the Democratic periphery is showing up in debates and on political platforms: “Medicare for All.” According to a 2025 Economist-YouGov poll, nearly 60% of Americans favor a system of Medicare for […]

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