Emergency department visits for opioid overdose in North Carolina have risen sharply, with preliminary data for 2017 indicating more than 5,700 visits, a nearly 40 percent increase in opioid overdose ED visits compared to 2016. The 2017 increase represents a doubling of the number recorded in 2009.
Press Releases
Effective Monday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will temporarily assume leadership of child welfare services at the Cherokee County Department of Social Services, as authorized under state law.
North Carolina health officials are alerting the public to a recent increase in emergency department visits by people who reported using cannabidiol (CBD) oil or a similar product in electronic cigarettes and/or vaporizing pens.
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 Office of State Budget and Management, in consultation with the North Carolina Department of Health Human Services' Division of Social Services, has awarded a $2.5 million contract to SLI Global Solutions LLC subsidiary, the Center for the Support of Families, to provide technical assistance that will strengthen the state's social services and child welfare programs.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released a request for proposal for independent enrollment broker services that will help beneficiaries enroll in the North Carolina Medicaid and NC Health Choice managed care programs.
More than $9 million remains available to help eligible households pay their heating bills through the state-administered Low-Income Energy Assistance Program. The federally funded program helps keep families safe and healthy by providing a one-time payment directly to the utility company.
With flu activity in North Carolina remaining widespread, state health officials are continuing to encourage North Carolinians to get vaccinated. Interim estimates of vaccine effectiveness released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the vaccine is approximately 36 percent effective this season and 59 percent effective for children 6 months to 8 years old.
Foster youth of legal driving age and their caregivers can now be reimbursed for costs related to obtaining a driver's license through a new pilot program.
Governor Roy Cooper today urged all North Carolinians to take extra precautions to avoid catching or spreading the flu virus during peak flu season. Influenza has claimed the lives of at least 140 North Carolinians since flu season began in October.