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 […]
Cooper signs pregnant prisoner protection bill into law, supported by unlikely coalition
Governor Roy Cooper signed House Bill 608 into law Friday, legislation supported by a bipartisan coalition of groups that often find themselves on opposite sides of reproductive issues. The new law carves out a host of new safeguards for pregnant prisoners that protect the health of women and their babies. It ensures pregnant prisoners are […]
Novant responds to leaked video with doctor asking for scarier Covid-19 messaging
NEW HANOVER COUNTY –– A two-minute snippet of an internal video conference among top Novant Health leadership leaked Friday, showing healthcare administrators engaging in a blunt conversation about public Covid-19 messaging. It is unclear when the video conference occurred and how it was shared. In the last couple of months, the hospital’s Covid-19 cases have climbed, […]
What are mAbs? And other Covid trends as preventable hospitalizations peak
The delta variant continues to strain healthcare resources across the country, with local hospitalizations continuing to peak. New Hanover Regional Medical Center is treating around 132 hospitalized individuals daily as of last week, up from 104 in late August, then its highest-ever number of Covid-19 patients. Across Novant Health systems, 94% of all patients requiring […]