Special Report: Emerging Issues and Opportunities in Healthcare Policy for WNC
Despite substantial healthcare spending, chronic illnesses remain the biggest threat to premature death and disability, particularly among working-aged individuals. These trends undermine our economy and threaten long-term fiscal and economic well-being in our region, state, and nation. In response, the 2024 WNC Legislative Caucus is committed to addressing three pressing healthcare policy issues: Social Care Delivery Systems, NC Medicaid Expansion, and Workforce Development.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Learn more about regional and national data, educational and support information, opportunities engagement, and other resources relating to mental and behavioral health needs, impacts, challenges and solutions.
Healthcare Workforce and the Student Health Ambassador Program - WNC HPI News Brief
North Carolina, like the rest of the United States, is facing a massive healthcare workforce shortage. With the state in need of nurses, caregivers, behavioral health specialists, physicians, and public health workers, a number of initiatives across the state are seeking to increase our healthcare workforce.
While some collaborations are looking big picture…in WNC…other initiatives are exposing students to the healthcare field and are building pathways for those students to enter that workforce. One program led by the North Carolina Center for Health & Wellness (NCCHW), Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC), and the Dogwood Health Trust, in partnership with a number of universities in that region, have connected students to the critical field of healthcare with the Student Health Ambassador (SHA) program.
Access to mental health care in Western NC only partially helped by telehealth (reprint)
North Carolina ranks 39th in the nation for access to mental health care. Four million state residents — two in every five North Carolinians — live in an area with a mental health professional shortage and the situation is worse in rural counties, which have only 0.58 psychiatrists to every 10,000 people, compared to 1.79 per 10,000 in urban ones.
While the APA indicates that telehealth can be especially effective for depression, ADHD, and PTSD, not all mental health conditions are equally suited for telehealth. However, with such a severe mental health provider shortage in the region, doctors and patients — especially those in rural Western North Carolina — have to rely on telehealth, provided they have sufficient internet access. (Reprinted with permission from Carolina Public Press)
North Carolina Primary Care Payment Reform Task Force Report
On April 17, 2024, the North Carolina Primary Care Payment Reform Task Force released it’s report on recommendations to increase the amount of expenditures that North Carolina payors (insurance companies, prepaid health plans, etc.) devote to promoting and providing primary care (aka “care aimed at prevention, wellness, and treatment for common illnesses”)
Executive Summary: Emerging Issues and Opportunities in Healthcare Policy for WNC
Despite substantial healthcare spending, chronic illnesses remain the biggest threat to premature death and disability, particularly among working-aged individuals. These trends undermine our economy and threaten long-term fiscal and economic well-being in our region, state, and nation. In response, the 2024 WNC Legislative Caucus is committed to addressing three pressing healthcare policy issues: Social Care Delivery Systems, NC Medicaid Expansion, and Workforce Development.
January is Radon Action Month
Governor Roy Cooper has proclaimed January as Radon Action Month to raise the public’s awareness of radon, promote testing and mitigation for radon, and reduce the risk of lung cancer from radon. Testing is the only way to know if you or your family is at risk, and residents can order a free test kit, while supplies last, at radon.ncdhhs.gov. Read our featured blog post and radon PSA to learn how you can reduce your risk in WNC.
2024 Women’s Health Awareness Conference - WNC
Join us on April 13, 2024 for the Western North Carolina site of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ 10th Annual Women’s Health Awareness Conference, featuring FREE health screenings, health education sessions, healthy living sessions, and health resources, plus exhibitors from many regional community partners who support women’s health in WNC. Hosted at MAHEC’s Biltmore Forest campus in conjunction with the WNC Health Policy Initiative.
January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month
January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month! Did you know that North Carolina consistently ranks in the top 10 states for reports of human trafficking? Learn more about human trafficking around the world (and closer to home), what you can do to help those being victimized right now, and how you can join the fight to end human trafficking in NC and beyond.
In The News: NC Medicaid’s Healthy Opportunities Pilot
North Carolina’s Healthy Opportunities Pilot - an innovative program designed to use Medicaid funds to improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs by addressing social determinants of health - is making the news…and making a difference.
It’s time to celebrate National Community Health Worker Awareness week!
Learn more about the Community Health Workers who help keep WNC strong, resilient and healthy.