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DHHS’ Division of Public Health last month held a ceremony honoring long-term survivors of HIV and the health care providers who are helping them achieve good health and viral suppression, as part of a recognition of World AIDS Day.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services wants all North Carolinians to be as healthy as possible, and having health insurance is a big part of that. If you don’t have health coverage, the Department encourages you to enroll for 2018 through the Health Insurance Marketplace at HealthCare.gov by next week’s deadline of Friday, Dec. 15.

Laketha M. Miller, the Director of the DHHS Office of the Controller, has been selected to receive the 2017 State Controller’s Fiscal Integrity Award. The award is presented to a state employee or agency that has demonstrated a record of exemplary adherence to the ethical principles of fiscal integrity and honesty, worked to sustain open government, and earned a reputation for fairness and service to the citizens of North Carolina.

The Secretary's speech was part of a seminar held for professionals in the fields of Adult Protective Services, guardianship social work and addiction. It aimed to develop a basic knowledge of issues, challenges and opportunities surrounding the opioid crisis that particularly affect aging and vulnerable adults and their families.

Thirty-three Department of Health and Human Services employees were nominated for the Governor’s Awards for Excellence this year, one of the highest honors a state employee can receive.

Senior Director for Employment Services Claudia Horn and Vocational Rehabilitation Services Division Director Tara Myers each won the Director’s Award from the Marketing Association for Rehabilitation Centers, Inc. (MARC). The awards were presented at the organization’s annual meeting and awards luncheon in October. MARC represents a consortium of 14 community rehabilitation programs that provide training and employment services for people with disabilities in western North Carolina.

The Program for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) initiative provides an alternative to nursing facilities for low-income adults who meet Medicaid's criteria of needing nursing facility services but are able to live in a community setting. PACE is an adult day health program for seniors age 55 and up, and features medical care, meal services, physical therapy, activities, socialization, therapeutic recreation and restorative therapies in one location.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services is partnering with RTI International, local health departments, the Harm Reduction Coalition and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to develop collaborative solutions to opioid use and related public-health problems in eight western North Carolina counties.

Two massive hurricanes that brought catastrophic damage to the Florida Keys (Irma) and Puerto Rico (Maria) have been receiving medical support from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

On Oct. 10, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen and members of the DHHS leadership team presented updates to two Joint Legislative Oversight Committees: Health and Human Services, and Medicaid and NC Health Choice.