By Jennifer Fernandez Even as one school year is wrapping up, parents of preschoolers should be working on getting their kindergarten students ready for school in the fall. A key recommendation: Schedule a well-child visit and ask your child’s doctor to fill out the North Carolina Health Assessment Transmittal Form, a health assessment document that […]

The post Put state health assessment form on your ‘kindergarten to-do’ list appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Sarah Jane Tribble and Amanda Seitz KFF Health News WILLIAMSTON — Two years after her brother’s death, Debra Pierce still wonders whether the 50-year-old would have survived his heart attack if her local hospital hadn’t closed. “The sad thing is we’ll never know if he could have been saved that night or not, because […]

The post Trump’s $50B rural health bet meets a healthcare desert in North Carolina appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Skye Crawford Hailey Yentz was lifting weights with her track and field team in February 2025, when she started to feel dizzy. Without knowing why, she collapsed in a teammate’s arms and for 10 minutes, she had no pulse. The college senior was having a heart attack.  After that cardiac arrest, Yentz, who had […]

The post Cardiac emergency survivors, advocates encourage ‘Smart Heart Act’ inclusion in state budget appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Anne Blythe Mary Otto was a reporter at The Washington Post almost two decades ago when she came across the story of a Maryland boy whose lack of access to routine dental care would expose a broken oral health system. Deamonte Driver was just 12 years old in February 2007 when he died from […]

The post Giving more teeth to public health in dentistry appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Will Atwater As 90-degree days begin to show up in the spring, protecting migrant farmworkers from heat stress is a top priority for farmworker advocacy groups heading into what many expect will be a long, hot summer. “Every harvest since 2022, we’ve seen either a worker die or suffer permanent brain damage from heat,” […]

The post Migrant workers, advocates work to get ready for long, hot summer appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Ashley Fredde When first responders responded within minutes to a 911 call from Clayton Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Johnston County, they arrived to find that resuscitation had not yet begun. The resident was pronounced dead just over 30 minutes after the call. At the same nursing home, a resident asked for her wound […]

The post Delayed, denied, diffused: Families face an uphill battle in nursing home cases appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Kate Denning Carolina Public Press The University of North Carolina System Board of Governors voted Thursday to let UNC-Wilmington move forward with the planning process for its proposed medical school. It’s the next step — though an unusual one — in the university’s effort to mend healthcare inequity by increasing access in Southeastern North Carolina. […]

The post UNCW gets UNC System blessing to continue medical school planning appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Zoya Teirstein Grist This story was produced by Grist and co-published with States Newsroom. It is part of the Grist series Vital Signs, exploring the ways climate change affects your health. This reporting initiative is made possible thanks to support from the Wellcome Trust. Bailey Magers and Sunil Kumar cut strange figures on Pensacola Beach. Bags […]

The post A deadly bacteria is creeping up the Atlantic Coast. How worried should you be? appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Michelle Crouch Co-published with The Charlotte Ledger Atrium Health would have to add four local elected officials to its board under a North Carolina state Senate bill — one of several proposals this session taking aim at the growing power of large hospital systems. The bill, SB 961, would also require any meeting of […]

The post Lawmakers target hospitals – and Atrium Health in particular – in reform bills appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Ashley Fredde State lawmakers are proposing a bill they say would reduce administrative burden and redundancy for inspections in adult care homes, the places that manage the care for some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.  “Adult care homes” have a specific designation in North Carolina. They’re places where the housing management provides 24-hour […]

The post Adult care home inspections: repetitive or necessary? NC lawmakers debate changes appeared first on North Carolina Health News.