Newsletter Articles

NCDHHS staff are mobilizing across divisions to make progress on North Carolina's Early Childhood Action Plan. Department leaders recently spent two days working in cross-sector teams to strategize and make plans to leverage and align work in three priority areas for 2020.

Officials from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the NC Department of Public Safety participated with federal, state and local partners in a multi-state Ebola virus disease emergency preparedness exercise Nov. 4–8, 2019. 

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen, MD, is the keynote speaker next week at the National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) health care symposium Nov. 21–22, 2019 at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in Durham. 

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services celebrated Antibiotic Awareness Week by announcing the winners of the “Be Antibiotics Aware: Smart Use, Best Care Campaign' poster contest.

DHHS held its first-ever Native American Heritage Month event on Nov. 20 featuring members of the Lumbee tribe from Robeson County who were dressed in full regalia and provided native singing, dancing and storytelling.

Lawrence Holliday, an employee at DHHS' Disability Determination Services, recently appeared on an episode of "Wheel of Fortune." It aired in the Triangle on Nov. 14. Holliday shared how he became a contestant on the game show and what the experience was like.

A simple battery interrupter assembled by Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services intern Sarah Gachuz is bringing joy to children with disabilities who can now activate battery-operated toys that previously posed a challenge for them to turn on and off.

OEMS Chief Mitchell Honored by Rescue and EMS Association; Gilliam Receives Leadership Award from Benchmarks; Tomlinson Elected Section Councilor for APHA's Oral Health Section; Emma Sandoe Featured as Co-author in Health Affairs; IDD Team Member Angelia Lightfoot Builds Partnerships.

Employees with the NC Department of Health and Human Services participated in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s 72nd annual Toys for Tots drive this year, gathering hundreds of toys for children in the community who may not otherwise receive a Christmas gift.

The NC Department of Health and Human Services is partnering this year with the NC Department of Transportation and its annual Bicycle Helmet Initiative to reduce bicycle injuries and deaths. The initiative distributes free helmets through various agencies sponsoring bicycle safety events.

A North Carolina agency that developed a traumatic brain injury crisis management and de-escalation training video for first responders recently won national recognition for the project, which was funded by DHHS through a grant from the federal Administration for Community Living.

The Social Security Administration reports that Social Security impersonation scams were on the rise in 2019 and have become the leading type of fraud reported to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Federal Trade Commission.

The NC Medicaid Annual Report for State Fiscal Year 2019 is now available, offering a look at how NC Medicaid makes a difference in North Carolina.

North Carolina's Office of Emergency Medical Services (NCOEMS) Mobile Disaster Hospital was deployed Dec. 16 to aid Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital after a burst water pipe damaged more than 200 rooms.