NHRMC physicians assistant charged with drugging teen girls still affiliated with hospital system
WILMINGTON — Charles Edward Walton Jr., a physicians assistant-certified employed by Novant Health-New Hanover Regional Medical Center, was arrested Nov. 8 on five counts of misdemeanor child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. The charges arose after two alleged victims of Walton filed police reports in September. The two girls, both of them […]
‘Profits over patients’: Study finds charity care lackluster for nonprofit hospitals that enjoy tax-exempt status
A study requested by State Treasurer Dale Folwell conducted by Johns Hopkins University researchers found that nonprofit hospitals in North Carolina operate on average with profit margins three times higher than the national average, delivering less charity care than the organizations end up saving by not paying taxes. Hospitals can avoid paying taxes by operating […]
‘It’s a pivotal time’: Billion-dollar hospital sale endowment wants your ideas
NEW HANOVER COUNTY –– For the first time since before the hospital sale was approved, the public is invited to share its wants, needs, and goals for the New Hanover Community Endowment, Inc. The nonprofit tasked with overseeing $1.25 billion in proceeds from the sale of the county-owned New Hanover Regional Medical Center to Novant Health […]
Hospital sale endowment shapes up, key activities of the past year outlined
NEW HANOVER COUNTY –– The New Hanover Community Endowment Inc. is already investing $1.25 billion it received as part of the February sale of the previously county-owned New Hanover Regional Medical Center to Novant Health. The day before the one-year sale approval anniversary, endowment president Spence Broadhurst and vice president Hannah Gage shared a range of […]
What to expect if you get a call back after your mammogram [Free read]
In the United States, breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women after skin cancer, and though rare, it can also occur in men. The American Cancer Society recommends that women start getting an annual mammogram when they turn 40, with ages 45 to 54 being the prime cancer-detecting years. Women ages 55 […]
CDC suggests Covid-19 boosters for high-risk individuals, appointments open in Cape Fear region
SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizing emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster, area healthcare organizations will begin offering booster shots to people in the Cape Fear region next week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has suggested boosters for high-risk patients — certain individuals who received their last Pfizer-BioNTech shot […]
Brunswick commissioner accused of and denies meddling in health department decisions
BRUNSWICK COUNTY –– At least two Brunswick County Board of Education members believe Brunswick County Commissioner Pat Sykes intervened in a February school-related health department decision by pressuring the health and human services director to back off school closure determinations. The matter colors how the school board views the health department, prompting mistrust and discomfort that […]
September on track to be New Hanover’s deadliest Covid month on record
NEW HANOVER COUNTY –– A record 37 people in New Hanover County died from Covid-19 over the past week –– the highest weekly total pandemic deaths to date. Health conditions ranged among the dead, with some in their 30s. Just halfway through September, the county’s total deaths (45) are nearly twice August’s entire death total (25), […]
NHRMC launches mAb infusion center for Covid-positive, high-risk patients
WILMINGTON –– New Hanover Regional Medical Center opened a dedicated monoclonal antibody infusion center to treat high-risk, Covid-positive patients Thursday. The hospital is able to open the center after securing permission from the N.C. Division of Health Service Regulation Monday, according to a hospital spokesperson. RELATED: Gov. Cooper tours Cape Fear Clinic to promote Covid-19 treatment […]
Gov. Cooper tours Cape Fear Clinic to promote Covid-19 treatment
WILMINGTON — Monoclonal antibody treatments for Covid-19 are picking up steam. The infusions of antibodies into infected patients, when administered early enough and if the case is not too severe, decreases the likelihood of hospitalization. Two days after federal distribution policy for these drugs shifted, Gov. Roy Cooper toured the Cape Fear Clinic, a charitable […]