Press Releases

Secretary Rick Brajer announced today that Dr. Warren Newton, a leading health educator in North Carolina, has agreed to serve the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services as a senior medical advisor to help shape Medicaid reform, while continuing his current role as director of North Carolina’s Area Health Education Centers.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging all North Carolinians to be aware of the risk of Zika virus infection before traveling to Central America, South America or the Caribbean.

N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Rick Brajer encourages all North Carolina residents to protect themselves against the flu during National Influenza Vaccination Week, Dec. 6-12.

Today is World AIDS Day, which renews opportunities for health service agencies to work actively and collaboratively with partners to raise awareness about HIV and move closer to an AIDS-free generation. 

In recognition of November as Adoption Awareness Month, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services thanked families and professionals in the adoption community during an event held Nov. 20 on the eve of Adoption Awareness Day.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is accepting applications for the state's Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) beginning Dec. 1, 2015.

Governor Pat McCrory announced today the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice has received a $679,000 grant award to expand a specialty mental health probation pilot program to Brunswick, McDowell, Guilford, Mecklenburg, Orange and Durham counties.

North Carolina is requiring new packaging and label requirements on electronic cigarette products sold in the state, effective Dec. 1.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is reporting the state's first death from flu for the 2015-2016 influenza season.

As flu season approaches, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging all North Carolina residents to protect themselves by getting vaccinated against the flu.

Health officials from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Public Health encourage residents and visitors to take precautions to prevent mosquito-borne illness following a death from West Nile virus infection. 

Viral hepatitis affects as many as 400 million people worldwide, contributing to nearly 4,000 deaths each day.  In North Carolina, an estimated 160,000 people are infected with hepatitis C and most are unaware of their infection. 

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services awarded $5,000 grants Thursday that will allow 11 counties to train paramedics in mental health crisis intervention.

Last week, Governor Pat McCrory signed an Executive Order creating a Mental Health and Substance Use Task Force that will be jointly co-chaired by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Aldona Wos, M.D. and North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin.

Because temperatures are reaching dangerous highs this time of year, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Public Health is encouraging people with diabetes to take extra precaution to maintain healthy blood glucose levels.

North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) State Cancer Registry is being recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a Registry of Excellence for collecting complete, timely and high quality data for the 2012 diagnosis year.

More than 2,500 patients across the state may be diverted each year from hospital emergency departments to behavioral health crisis centers with help from $5,000 grants awarded to each of 11 counties and their Emergency Medical Services, announced Courtney Cantrell, PhD, Director of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services.

The Critical Time Intervention pilot program, a part of North Carolina’s Crisis Solutions Initiative which assists adults with mental illnesses during transition periods, is planning for an expansion after receiving funding through a federal block grant, according to a Department of Health and Human Services press release.

For the second straight fiscal year, the North Carolina Medicaid program ended the year with cash on hand.

Warm weather picnics and cookouts can produce opportunities for food-borne illness if safe food-handling practices are not closely observed, state health officials caution.