MEDIA ADVISORY — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall on Wednesday, Oct. 14, from 6 to 7 p.m. to discuss how new federal and state laws will impact NC Medicaid, including who will need to meet a new work and community engagement requirement and how to prepare for upcoming changes to the program.
Press Releases
MEDIA ADVISORY — NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai and additional NCDHHS leadership staff will get their fall respiratory illness season vaccinations at the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health on Friday, Oct. 16 at 10:30 a.m. Secretary Sangvai and additional NCDHHS leadership will then be available for a brief media availability.
PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the first reported flu-related death of the 2026-2027 flu season, which will be shared in next week’s NC Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard update. An adult in the central part of the state died due to complications of flu during the first week of October. To protect the privacy of the family, no additional information will be released. NCDHHS is encouraging people to take steps now to protect themselves and their families from seasonal respiratory illnesses — flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial
PRESS RELEASE — Today Governor Stein and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced more than $17 million for investments to improve mental health services through North Carolina’s Rural Health Transformation Program.
PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is working alongside the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help prevent the spread of rabies. Starting in early October, Wildlife Services will be distributing oral rabies vaccine for raccoons in western North Carolina
PRESS RELEASE – The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced an updated Strategic Plan for the next four years alongside four key priority areas of focus. Together, the priority areas and strategic plan provide a framework for NCDHHS to strengthen partnerships with communities and stakeholders, advance innovative solutions and achieve the department’s mission of providing and ensuring access to essential services for all North Carolinians.
PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Department of Information Technology today announced the launch of the Rural Health Innovation Fund. This statewide investment fund will distribute approximately $20 million per year for up to five years to help rural providers modernize their infrastructure, making it easier for them to care for patients and operate their practices.
PRESS RELEASE – The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced an expansion in donor human milk access sites across North Carolina, making it easier for families to obtain and donate pasteurized donor milk.
PRESS RELEASE — Babies born in North Carolina will now be screened for two additional disorders, along with the other disorders screened for by the NC Department of Health and Human Services’ Newborn Screening Program. Newborns will now be screened for Infantile Krabbe Disease and Guanidinoacetate Methyltransferase (GAMT) Deficiency. This comes as NCDHHS celebrates the 60th anniversary of the state’s Newborn Screening Program this September during National Newborn Screening Awareness Month.
STATEMENT — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is returning control of child welfare services to the Bertie County Department of Social Services, effective today. NCDHHS temporarily assumed leadership in August 2025 after identifying serious concerns about child safety. Since then, the state and county have worked collaboratively to stabilize and improve child welfare services and ensure appropriate standards of care.