Press Releases

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.

In response to the ongoing investigation into the compound GenX and drinking water in the Cape Fear region, Governor Cooper announced that the Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Health and Human Services would request critical funding to support additional scientists, engineers and health professionals to ensure water testing and protection statewide.

The advisory was issued following a review of fish tissue data for the hybrid striped bass that found elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in hybrid striped bass in this waterway.

The hottest temperatures of the summer are forecast to hit parts of North Carolina over the next three days, pushing thermometers to the vicinity of triple digits and stressing people and pets. Temperatures in much of the state are expected to reach the upper 90s with heat indexes topping 100 degrees Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Data from samples collected June 19 and July 6 show that the most recent results of finished, or treated, water in all but one facility were below the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services' health goal of 140 parts per trillion. The data also reveal that concentrations of GenX are trending downward.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is strengthening its contracts by seeking improved outcomes from the organizations that manage behavioral health care services supported with Medicaid and state mental health funds.