North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

Federal officials are warning consumers about potential lead contamination in a puree marketed for children. The announcement comes following a joint investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and North Carolina health officials.

North Carolina officials have announced updates to the state’s Health Improvement Plan. The goal is to encompass the full set of factors impacting a person’s health.

North Carolina will receive $1.7 million to support its newborn screening program. The money will be distributed to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services over five years. The funding has been awarded from a division of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. The goal is to improve and build upon advancements in the state’s newborn screening system.

Beginning December 1, 2023, hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians will become eligible for health care coverage through Medicaid. The services provided include primary and maternity care as well as hospital stays, prescription drug benefits, and more. Many efforts are underway at the state and local level to connect newly eligible individuals to these resources.

North Carolina is receiving $14.8 million to support mental health initiatives for children and families. 

North Carolina’s wildlife rabies vaccination program gets underway this week as part of an annual effort to help protect North Carolinians and their pets.

North Carolina’s foster care system has reached a tipping point. Social service agencies are struggling to find homes for the children in their care, leaving some to sleep in government offices or even emergency rooms. One big reason for that? A lack of available foster families.

North Carolina will receive over $4 million in federal funding to help strengthen access to maternal health care. The funding initiative is aimed at addressing high infant and maternal mortality rates, as well as ongoing inequity in those rates.

Health officials are encouraging North Carolinians to get an updated COVID-19 vaccine this fall along with their annual flu shot.   The vaccine could be available by the end of this week, according to the North Carolina Department of Human Services. Officials note the vaccine is arriving just as North Carolina is seeing an uptick in infections, It's recommended for everyone 6 months and older.