Mission Hospital recently opened an emergency department specifically for pediatric patients in Asheville. Doctors and parents alike say the dedicated 12-unit facility can make an emergency visit less stressful and quicker for young patients.
Author: Leslie Boyd
Showing 1-21 of 96 results
Physical therapy for pelvic floor dysfunction
The pelvic floor muscles keep the bladder, rectum, uterus and prostate in place, and when they’re not healthy, it can lead to a range of issues. Further complicating matters, embarrassment often deters people from talking about these problems, which are not exactly dinner table conversation. Instead, they may simply try to cope with the situation themselves rather than seeking treatment. But health care practitioners say a range of approaches can help, including physical therapy, medication and surgery.
COVID-19 drives flexibility in mental health therapy
“Human beings just aren’t designed to be isolated in perpetuity,” says Rhonda Cox, executive vice president and chief population health officer at Vaya Health. But that’s exactly what many have had to endure over the past 10 months, and the strain is showing up in the region’s mental health system.
With interest in birth centers soaring, local facility struggles to cover costs
When Emma Strickland learned she was pregnant with her second child, she started looking for an alternative to a hospital birth. She found it at the WNC Birth Center. The center is open during the COVID pandemic but has had to scale back on some of its related services. Ironically, that’s led to a shortage of income at a time when women like Strickland find themselves increasingly drawn to a birth center.
COVID vaccines coming soon
As the state prepares to distribute the first doses of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus, a local resident who participated in a Phase 3 clinical trial for the development of pharmaceutical developer Moderna’s vaccine shares her experience.
Asheville Integrative Medicine closes up shop
Asheville Integrative Medicine will close next month, a victim of COVID-19 and the ensuing recession.
COVID-19 compounds housing crisis
With Asheville’s only day shelter for people who are homeless undergoing renovations, and overnight options unable to admit those in need of short-term shelter due to the pandemic, “For people experiencing homelessness, this is going to be a brutal winter,” says Eleanor Ashton of nonprofit Homeward Bound.
Melody LeBaron on coping with death and dying
People who are facing death, as well as their families, need to make dozens of decisions large and small, author Melody LeBaron says, and everyone should have a plan in place before the final moments of life. Her new book provides support for creating a roadmap to guide individuals and their loved ones as death approaches.
Keeping COVID at bay
Local conventional and alternative health care practitioners offer suggestions for staying healthy in the time of COVID-19. To boost your immune system and physical resilience, they advise taking some simple but powerful actions.
Human trafficking exploits vulnerable populations
Human trafficking takes many forms. According to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services fact sheet, it can include not only sex for money involving coercion or fraud but also any kind of involuntary servitude. And while most folks associate trafficking with children, two-thirds of the more than 200 North Carolina cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline last year were adults. The Second Annual Anti-Trafficking Summit, slated for Sept. 15-19, is co-sponsored by Mars Hill University and Life 107 Ministries. This year’s summit will be online-only due to COVID-19.
Safety in the dentist’s chair
While regular dental hygiene may be able to wait a bit longer, some dental appointments can’t be put off. What steps are local practices taking to ensure the health of staff and patients during the coronavirus pandemic?
Pandemic worsens disparities for local LGBTQ people
Even before the coronavirus pandemic began, both LGBTQ youths and adults faced obstacles that others never had to think about. And COVID-19 has only exacerbated those disparities.
St. Gerard House seeks to expand local autism services
Currently, 34 children come to St. Gerard each day instead of attending public school, but at any given time, there are more than 100 families on the waiting list, and most wait more than a year to obtain services. The situation is pretty much the same at similar facilities in the area, says Executive Director Caroline Long.
Expanded programs support behavioral health issues during pandemic
“You don’t have to be a psychiatrist to know that when you take away people’s routines and jobs, it’s difficult for them, especially if they have a mental illness,” says Brian Ingraham, CEO of Vaya Health. New federal funding will help two Western North Carolina agencies expand mental health services, some directly related to the pandemic and the rest addressing overall behavioral health issues.
For expectant parents, COVID-19 brings changes, uncertainty
For women expecting to deliver babies this spring and summer, the coronavirus pandemic has radically reshaped much of the experience of pregnancy and birth. From online prenatal visits to limitations on the number of people who can be present at the birth to uncertainty about the medical implications of the virus for moms and babies, parents and health care providers are figuring it out as they go along.
New county program aims to reduce harm, treat inmate addiction
“We’ve tried to arrest our way out of the drug epidemic for decades, and it hasn’t worked,” says Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller. Now, a new program at the Buncombe County Detention Facility is providing medication-assisted treatment to incarcerated people with substance-use disorder. Studies show MAT is an effective treatment for addiction, which can reduce recidivism and lower the risk of overdose.
Are electronic media harming children’s health?
Local medical experts weigh in on the effects of screen time on toddlers and children.
Preserving the old ways
Becky Beyer, an ethnobotanist, wild food enthusiast and cultural historian, will lead a workshop on Appalachian folk medicine Saturday, March 14, at the Black Mountain Library.
Public health nurses offer community-based care
Public health nursing is all about getting out into the community to improve people’s health where they live, work and eat. It may not be glamorous, but it’s an opportunity to really make a difference, says Hayley McPeters, one of nine Buncombe County nurses honored recently as part of a statewide campaign.
At 25, Rathbun House provides refuge for patients’ families and caregivers
The ownership of Rathbun House — a hospitality house for families and patients from outside Buncombe County who need a place to stay while receiving treatment at local hospitals — changed following the acquisition of Mission Health by for-profit HCA Healthcare last year. But the 25-year-old institution’s mission to provide refuge and community during a stressful time remains unchanged, say staff members and guests.
Coping with political upheaval and spiritual malaise
Whether it’s local issues such as gentrification and overdevelopment or, at the national level, things like health care, the Green New Deal and military spending, the conversations have gotten toxic. Local spiritual advisers, mental health professionals and activists share their tips for staying sane while working for a better world.