Press Releases

North Carolina will receive $27 million over the next year to fight the state's opioid epidemic by getting people off opioids and preventing others from misusing them, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. Grants include $23 million from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and $4 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will administer both grants.

To further the Hurricane Florence recovery effort, Governor Roy Cooper has ordered the North Carolina Vital Records Office to temporarily waive its fees for North Carolinians who have been impacted by the storm and need replacement vital records. 

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is reminding people impacted by Hurricane Florence that applications for help buying food through the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or “D-SNAP,' will be accepted no later than Thursday, Oct. 11 in Greene County.

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's AirCare team of Roger Horton and Barry McMillian claimed the title at the 28th Annual Paramedic Competition held this week in Greensboro, marking the second time in four years that the AirCare team from Wake Forest Baptist has won the event. The victory marked the fourth in the past decade for Horton and McMillian, who also triumphed at the competition in 2009 and 2010 while working for Surry County.

With flu season's arrival, health officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services are encouraging residents to protect themselves, their families and other people around them by getting vaccinated against the flu.

Due to the increased populations of mosquitoes caused by flooding from Hurricane Florence, Governor Roy Cooper ordered $4 million to fund mosquito control efforts in counties currently under a major disaster declaration.

Today, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced additional flexibilities to expand its efforts to ensure Medicaid and NC Health Choice services can be quickly delivered to those impacted by Hurricane Florence. These new flexibilities will help people in Medicaid receive care without disruption and give health care providers leeway to deliver services with fewer limits.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services are encouraging nurses, physicians, behavioral health professionals and others interested in volunteering to help people impacted by the storm to get connected with the appropriate resources and organizations

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has announced flexibility for families enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program to help those affected by Hurricane Florence. This temporary flexibility will apply to participants enrolled in the WIC program whose WIC office is closed or experiencing hardships related to impacts from the hurricane.

Caswell Developmental Center, a state-operated developmental center in Kinston that serves the state's eastern region, is experiencing a phone outage due to its service provider, CenturyLink, having widespread outages. Caswell Developmental Center has maintained frequent and regular contact with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, which operates the center, and DHHS has reached out to guardians to notify them of the outage. All residents are currently doing well, and should any individual concerns arise, guardians will be contacted.
 

Today, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced two new flexibilities for people and families in the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) program to help those affected by Hurricane Florence.

Today, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced broad efforts to work with federal and county partners to provide additional flexibility to people enrolled in the Medicaid program and their health care providers during and after Hurricane Florence.

As North Carolinians prepare for Hurricane Florence, officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services are cautioning people about the risks of using gasoline-powered generators and outdoor grills and camp stoves that use charcoal or propane gas in enclosed spaces.

The North Carolina Payers Council, a group of public and private health care payers formed as part of Governor Roy Cooper's 2017 North Carolina Opioid Action Plan to identify, align and implement policies to combat the opioid crisis, today released a report that identifies a five-pronged approach to address the epidemic.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is joining Governor Roy Cooper and many local, state and federal partners in recognizing September as National Recovery Month. Governor Cooper issued a proclamation this week, noting that more than 700,000 people in North Carolina have a substance use disorder.

The Center for the Support of Families today released two preliminary reform plans, one for child welfare and one for social services. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will use the preliminary recommendations as a roadmap to identify ways to improve support to and oversight of social services programs, enhance child safety and protect children from harm.

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 issued an executive order directing North Carolina to create an Early Childhood Action Plan. The plan to be developed by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will be devoted to the health, safety, and developmental and academic readiness of young children across the state.

As North Carolina's tobacco-free schools law marks its 10th anniversary, the state has seen cigarette smoking reduce 50 percent among high schoolers since 2008, but the latest N.C. Youth Tobacco Survey, published in June, shows that more than 16 percent of North Carolina high school students use e-cigarettes, and 23 percent stated they are considering use of these products in the coming year.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has $43.9 million available from the Administration for Children and Families to support the Crisis Intervention Program in state fiscal year 2018-19.