Press Releases

Multiple North Carolina counties have reported power outages related to the effects of Hurricane Irma. As people use alternative sources of power, North Carolina health officials are cautioning people about the risk of using gasoline-powered equipment in enclosed spaces.

As part of its ongoing investigation, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality this week urged Chemours to stop discharging two additional chemical compounds into the Cape Fear River. The compounds were identified in the company's waste stream by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency preliminary analysis shared with the state this week.

DHHS has established a Payers' Council to bring together health care payers across the state to partner on benefit design, member services and pharmacy policies to reduce opioid misuse and overdose.

A measuring tool with a radioactive component used to test density in soil compaction during construction was recovered Friday morning after the report it went missing Thursday night.

The device uses radioactive materials to test density in soil compaction during construction. It went missing from a private contractor at the McCuller's Walk Apartments jobsite, 500 Shady Summit Way in Garner, and the disappearance was reported to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services at 7:58 p.m.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging people who plan to view Monday's solar eclipse to use proper eye protection and take steps to reduce the risk of heat-related illness.

In recognition, DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D., today visited the Advance Community Health Center in Raleigh and Gov. Roy Cooper signed a proclamation designating the third week of August as National Health Center Week in North Carolina.

According to North Carolina's Acting State Health Director, Kelly Kimple, MD, MPH, breastfeeding has long- and short-term benefits that include lowering the risk of acute conditions such as respiratory and ear infections, more serious chronic diseases like diabetes and asthma or even Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

The new technology will also enable cross-county communication when families move across county lines, with the goal of better protecting the more than 11,000 children and youth in foster care and 125,000 children who receive Child Protective Services assessments each year.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released a detailed proposed design for transforming the state Medicaid and NC Health Choice programs to managed care, as directed by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2015. DHHS is accepting comments on this proposal through Sept. 8, 2017.