Topics Related to Mental Health

Today is Overdose Awareness Day in North Carolina. Proclaimed by Governor Roy Cooper, we're pausing today to remember loved ones lost to overdose and to learn what can be done to help those who struggle with substance use disorder. In 2016, four North Carolinians died each day from unintentional medication or drug overdose.

Governor Roy Cooper has issued Executive Order No. 48, paving the way for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to immediately apply for $25 million in federal funding to combat the opioid epidemic in North Carolina.

Governor Cooper today announced $1.5 million in grant awards to 12 community partners to implement projects that combat the opioid crisis by advancing the goals of the NC Opioid Action Plan.

A data dashboard developed by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services shows the state is beginning to see success in its efforts to combat the opioid crisis. The oversupply of prescription opioids is being reduced and access to treatment and recovery services has increased.

Each year, tens of thousands of children and their families in North Carolina face the challenges of living with mental health issues and seeking treatment and care. Governor Roy Cooper has declared today as Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day, an observance related to Mental Health Month, also observed during May.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ State Center for Health Statistics has created an interactive map with a series of overlays showing social determinants of health indicators in North Carolina, including the economic, social and neighborhood, and housing and transportation status of residents across the state.

Kroger Pharmacies and Harris Teeter Pharmacies across North Carolina have joined the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services in the fight against prescription drug misuse by integrating pharmacy data sharing information into their workflow.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services today announced that the newly appointed board for Cardinal Innovations will meet to hold its first official board meeting this weekend. The new board will convene on Friday evening, Jan. 26, for another training session and will come into session for its first official board meeting on Saturday, Jan. 27. At this board meeting, DHHS intends to transition leadership and governance of the organization to the new board and the Cardinal Innovations executive leadership team.

Governor Roy Cooper today announced the next wave of funding to combat the opioid crisis from the 21st Century Cures Act/State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grant that North Carolina received in May 2017. Since May, 3,200 individuals have benefited from these programs, and the funds announced today are expected to treat an additional 3,300 North Carolinians with an opioid use disorder.

Since arriving on site on Nov. 27, DHHS staff discovered documents that raise serious concerns about proposed financial activities by former board leadership and former CEO. Based on this information, DHHS filed and was granted a temporary restraining order in Mecklenburg County to ensure that former board members and the former CEO have no access to Cardinal's funds. DHHS has taken a variety of administrative actions related to the financial management of the organization; in addition to those activities we are pursuing this litigation out of an abundance of caution in the protection of taxpayer dollars.