North Carolina

After the only hospital in town closed, a North Carolina city directs its ire at politicians

Published

3 months ago

May 20, 2024

After the only hospital in town closed, a North Carolina city directs its ire at politicians

By Amanda Seitz and Allen G. Breed | Associated Press

WILLIAMSTON, N.C. — Weeds have punctured through the vacant parking lot of Martin General Hospital’s emergency room. A makeshift blue tarp covering the hospital’s sign is worn down from flapping in the wind. The hospital doors are locked, many in this county of 22,000 fear permanently.

Some residents worry the hospital’s sudden closure last August could cost them their life.

“I know we all have to die, but it seems like since the hospital closed, there’s a lot more people dying,” Linda Gibson, a lifelong resident of Williamston, North Carolina, said on a recent afternoon while preparing snacks for children in a nearby elementary school kitchen.

More than 100 hospitals have downsized services or closed altogether over the past decade in rural communities like Williamston, where people openly wonder if they’d survive the 25-minute ambulance ride to the nearest hospital if they were in a serious car crash.

When Quorum Health shut down Martin County’s 43-bed hospital, citing “financial challenges related to declining population and utilization trends,” residents here didn’t just lose a sense of security. They lost trust, too, in the leaders they elected to make their town a better place to live.

People like 73-year-old Bobby Woolard say they don’t believe any politicians – from the local county commissioners to the presidential candidates who will pass through this swing state with big campaign promises in the coming months – care enough to help them fix the problem.

“If you’re critically ill, there’s no help for you here,” Woolard said on a sunny April afternoon while trimming his neighbor’s hedges. “Nobody seems to care. You got a building sitting there empty and nobody seems to care.”

Trouble for Biden’s health care campaign?

The sentiment in this sharply polarized and segregated eastern North Carolina county could hint at trouble for President Joe Biden, who has made health care a key part of his reelection campaign against Republican rival Donald Trump.

His TV campaign ads hone in on Trump’s promises to diminish the Affordable Care Act. On social media, Biden regularly reminds followers of the law he signed that caps the cost of insulin. And in North Carolina, the campaign is narrowly focused on promoting Democrats’ successful efforts to expand Medicaid, which will extend nearly free government health insurance to thousands of people and reduce the indigent population for hospitals.

Biden and Trump are fiercely competing for the state, which also features the most prominent governor’s race of the year. Martin County, where Williamston is located, voted for Trump in 2020.

“Health care is on the ballot this year, and voters will remember that when they reject Donald Trump in November,” said Dory MacMillan, the Biden campaign’s North Carolina communications director.

But Biden’s achievements might not be enough for crucial voters living in towns like this one in North Carolina, where people have a hard time just getting emergency care when they need it.

Nationally, emergency room wait times have ballooned, with the average emergency room visit taking nearly three hours last year, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Health care systems are also grappling with a health care worker shortage that worsened after burned-out employees emerged from the pandemic.

Those problems are particularly pronounced in rural communities, where more than 68 hospitals have closed in the last decade. The closures slowed down during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the federal government doled out billions of dollars in extra funds to hospitals. But with that money spent, hospital closures might tick up again, said George Pink, the deputy director of the University of North Carolina’s Sheps Center’s Rural Health Research Program.

Often, it’s emergency room care that residents miss the most, Pink said.

“If you’re having a heart attack, if you’re having a stroke, if you’re giving birth, all those are the kinds of life events where you need access to emergency care quickly and properly,” Pink said. “Those communities that have lost their rural hospitals, they don’t have that.”

A system ‘at risk’

Months before Williamston’s hospital closed, an outside consultant sent a dire warning about emergency care in the county.

The county’s volunteer first responder system was ineffective and long response times that stretched past 15 minutes in some areas were putting “lives at risk,” the consultant told the county’s commissioners last April.

The system was “in desperate need for vision, direction, guidance, command and control, and additional financial support,” the consultant advised the county, according to meeting minutes.

Since Martin General Hospital shut down, things have only gotten worse.

Longer drives to hospitals outside of the county mean ambulances and their crews are tied up for hours sometimes on a run, said Capt. Kenny Warren of the Williamston Fire and Rescue.

“A call that used to take us 20 to 30 minutes is now taking an hour to two hours, depending on where we’ve got to transport to,” Warren said. He added that the agency is staffed with emergency medical technicians, but not paramedics who are trained to provide more advanced care to patients in emergencies.

Warren, however, said he doesn’t think anyone has died as a result.

“Most of the outcomes probably would have been the same anyway,” he said.

In December, first responders arrived on a Williamston street within three minutes of receiving 911 calls that several shots had been fired and a young man might be dead.

They tried unsuccessfully to get a medical helicopter to transport the 21-year-old gunshot victim. The closest option was a six-bed hospital, a 21-minute ambulance ride away. All told, it would take 34 minutes from the time of the 911 call to get him there, according to police dispatch logs. He was transferred from that hospital to a higher-level trauma center where he died a few days later.

The scene of the shooting was just four minutes away from Martin General Hospital’s site.

‘Do you really care?’

More than a dozen Williamston residents interviewed for this story blamed the Martin County Board of Commissioners for failing to prevent the troubled hospital from closing.

Last month, Williamston resident Verna Perry told commissioners that her sister made a 25-minute drive to the closest hospital only to find out she would not be able to get the treatment she needed there.

“Do you really care, commissioners?” Perry asked. “If you cared, you would do something to get us a hospital here.”

Kaitlyn Paxton was seeking treatment for her asthma at Martin General Hospital’s emergency room the day it shut down. She watched staff wheel out patients on stretchers to transfer them to other hospitals.

Since then, she’s had a hard time finding primary care doctors and specialists to replace the ones who left once the hospital closed.

“As far as everyday doctors and appointments, from my personal experience it has been a nightmare trying to find someone,” she said.

She’s used the federally qualified health center, called Agape Health, which is one of a few facilities in the county still offering primary care. More than a thousand of these health centers operate across the U.S. They receive federal government funds and take patients on a sliding pay scale, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.

Agape Health added Saturday hours because of an influx of new patients after Martin General closed, said clinic CEO Dr. Michael McDuffie. Last month, Agape reopened one of the orthopedic clinics that shut down along with the hospital.

McDuffie wants to reopen Martin General next, even if just as a stand-alone emergency room.

“It could mean life or death,” McDuffie said. “They need an emergency department here so that it could at least stabilize them.”

The county, which still owns the hospital and land, is consulting with state officials and federal Health and Human Services agency representatives to determine whether the facility can reopen as a Rural Emergency Hospital, said interim County Manager Ben Eisner. Gov. Roy Cooper helped to usher in a new state law that allows North Carolina’s rural hospitals to make the transition.

The Rural Emergency Hospital program was developed by Congress, signed into law by Trump and finetuned by the Biden administration. The designation allows rural hospitals to unlock millions of federal dollars and beef up Medicare payments if they stay open to provide 24/7 emergency care.

“The simple question we’re trying to answer is how do we go from closed to open in a way that makes sense for the citizens of Martin County,” Eisner said.

If successful, Martin County would be the first hospital in the country to reopen its doors after closing with the new federal designation.

“It’s a top priority for us, we live it every day as a community,” Paxton said of getting the hospital reopened. It’ll be top of mind for her when she votes in the presidential election this fall.

Even still, she said: “I do not think it is a top priority for any of them at all – president, senators – any of them.”

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North Carolina

Flooding threat remains as Tropical Storm Debby continues toward NC

Published

48 mins ago

August 6, 2024

Press Room

Flooding threat remains as Tropical Storm Debby continues toward NC

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Tropical Storm Debby weakened most of the day Monday, but it also slowed down and that will mean days of heavy rain for North Carolina before the center reaches us Friday. Those days of heavy rain means the threat of flooding later this week.

The latest information late Monday night from the National Hurricane Center had Debby as a weakening tropical storm with 45 mph winds and only moving northeast at 7 m.p.h.

State of Emergency declared in North Carolina ahead of Tropical Storm Debby

Debby made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida as a Category 1 Hurricane with winds of 80 mph Monday morning.

Heavy rain from Debby is ongoing across Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. There have also been a few tornado warnings along with gusty winds. Debby is expected to slow down even more over the next day or two.

Rain bands from Debby could reach southeastern North Carolina Tuesday, but heavy flooding rain would begin later in the day Wednesday and could last through Friday, especially in coastal North Carolina.

Tropical Storm Debby slowly moving towards the Carolinas

It is looking likely that Debby will move back over the waters of the Atlantic off the coast of South Carolina Tuesday into Wednesday, before making a possible second landfall on the northern coast of South Carolina. The time over the water could allow for the storm to gradually strengthen into a strong tropical storm Thursday. There will be minor adjustments to the forecast path and the strength of Debby, but those small changes will not have a large impact on the final forecast for central North Carolina.

Debby will be a much weaker system when it arrives in Central North Carolina, but multiple days of heavy rainfall will likely result in widespread 2-8 inch totals, with locally higher amounts. The higher rain totals will be in the Sandhills with lower amounts near the Virginia border.

Soils are already saturated across much of the region, so flooding issues are likely, especially in the Sandhills.

North Carolina crews clear storm drains, ready equipment ahead of storm

Gusty winds could also bring down some trees and powerlines, but those problems are not expected until Friday and at that time, power outages could become an issue in isolated amounts. Forecast wind gusts Friday are expected to be 30-40 m.p.h. with a very low tornado threat.

In addition to the rain issues, tropical storm conditions are possible along the coast of North Carolina. A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for a part of the North Carolina coastline from around Surf City down toward the South Carolina border. A Tropical Storm Watch means tropical storm conditions of sustained winds of 39 to 73 m.p.h. are possible within this area in the next 48 hours. A Storm Surge Watch has also been issued for the southern coast of North Carolina as 2 to 4 feet of surge is possible.

For residents in Central North Carolina, a good hurricane preparedness plan includes having an emergency kit ready. This kit could contain non-perishable food, water, medications, flashlights, batteries, and important documents. It’s also wise to have cash on hand, as power outages can make electronic transactions difficult.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS17.com.

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North Carolina

‘Republicans for Harris’ launches in NC, backed by former GOP politicians

Published

8 hours ago

August 5, 2024

Press Room

‘Republicans for Harris’ launches in NC, backed by former GOP politicians

A national effort by former Republican Party politicians and activists to back the presidential campaign of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off in North Carolina Monday.

Led by a politically conservative U.S. Army veteran, a former Republican justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court and a former local GOP activist from Charlotte, the state chapter of “Republicans for Harris” launched with speeches and a press conference.

They all said they disagree with many of the policies Harris backs. But they’re nevertheless endorsing her for president and working to convince fellow Republicans to listen to their arguments — namely, that former President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again movement don’t represent the conservative values of the Republican Party they believe in.

“Donald Trump does not stand for our beliefs,” said Michael Tucker, a former board member of the Mecklenburg County GOP. “He does not stand for anything but himself.”

The North Carolina Republican Party didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the new group and its efforts to mobilize the anti-Trump wing of the party. Neither did the Trump campaign.

The Harris campaign helped organize the new group and said it’s happy to welcome the support.

“There’s a home in our campaign for Republican voters who care deeply about the future of our democracy, standing strong with our allies against foreign adversaries, and working across the aisle to get things done for the American people,” her campaign wrote in a statement.

Scott Peoples, a Raleigh resident who served in the 82nd Airborne Division at what’s now Fort Liberty, said Monday that he spent years voting for Republicans. But he can’t support Trump over his history of mocking soldiers who were killed in action or taken prisoner, he said, adding that he also opposes the isolationist foreign policy stances backed by Trump and other MAGA Republicans.

And even though he acknowledged Harris had a liberal voting record while serving in the U.S. Senate, Peoples said he also gives her credit for helping Biden pass the PACT Act in 2022. That massive overhaul of veterans’ health benefits expanded medical coverage for ailments tied to burn pits as well as the toxic water that existed for years at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, a large U.S Marine Corps base.

“They have a proven record that I think even right-leaning veterans can acknowledge,” Peoples said.

Similar sentiments were common throughout Monday’s call: Even if Harris isn’t their ideal candidate, they said, she at least has some issues they can get behind. And, more importantly, she doesn’t strike them as an existential threat to America like they believe Trump to be.

“Donald Trump’s attacks on our institutions and democracy will be much more severe under a second term,” said former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr. A longtime Republican politician, Orr publicly quit the GOP after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on Congress by Trump supporters.

Orr and the others hope there are enough never-Trump Republicans like them to help swing North Carolina toward Harris.

In 2020, Trump won North Carolina by just 75,000 votes over Biden. In this year’s primary elections, more than 250,000 North Carolina voters backed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley against Trump.

And while Trump is still favored to win North Carolina, polls show the race has become more competitive since Harris took over the campaign for Biden. A variety of public polls showed Trump leading Biden by 4% or more in North Carolina. This past week a Morning Consult poll showed Trump leading Harris by 1% of the vote.

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North Carolina

NC State Has 16 Current Players From NC in the NFL

Published

16 hours ago

August 5, 2024

Press Room

NC State Has 16 Current Players From NC in the NFL

This past week kicked off NC State’s 2024 Fall Football Camp. Here’s a breakdown of some of the main highlights of what Wolfpack Head Coach Dave Doeren had to say. You can watch the full video of his time with the press ABOVE .

Highlights

On the first day of practice on Wednesday, without being prompted, Doeren went out of his way to give praise to two young new members of the Wolfpack.

“It was good to see Tamarcus Cooley make some plays today. Had some nice interceptions. Keenan Jackson had some nice catches. Those two guys stepped up today. I thought they looked good in practice.”

Cooley is a Redshirt Freshman Defensive Back, who transferred in from Maryland this offseason. In practice, he was running with the 2nd Team Defense as the Nickelback. Cooley was High School teammates with Wolfpack Receiver Noah Rogers, who transferred in from Ohio St. this offseason.

Jackson is a True Freshman, who flipped his commitment from UNC to NC State on National Signing Day back in December. He was a 4-Star prospect out of Weddington High School in Matthews, North Carolina.

Doeren also gave an update on Junior Sean Brown moving from Safety to Linebacker.

“Really well. He’s a smart football player. In-game last year we had to move in there when Payton (Wilson) was out in the Clemson game. He had eight tackles in the fourth quarter. He showed us that he can play there in a game. He’s built for it. He can run. He’s physical. He’s got really good instincts, vision. He understands coach [Tony] Gibson’s defense and what he wants. That position has to have a guy in it that can really run and erase things. Sean is built for that.”

Brown has big shoes to fill, moving into the void that was left at WILL Linebacker. Payton Wilson used to wear those shoes. Back in the Spring, Brown had put on 10 pounds of muscle, and from the looks of things this past week, he might have put on a few more pounds of muscle since then.

Dantonio Burnette, NC State’s Strength & Conditioning Coach, shared this tweet last week, sharing that Brown ran a 4.43 40-yard dash this offseason.

SEAN BROWN
New year, new position but Bigger, Stronger & Faster. As a former Linebacker I’m extremely excited to see him roam the field for the WOLFPACK this season.
PRO AGILITY – 4.02
40 – 4.43
VJ – 38.6”#HTT #1Pack1Goal #Sprinting #Agility #ProAgility #Speed #FeedTheWolf pic.twitter.com/odpzW2lNPp
— Dantonio Burnette (@CoachThunder_45) July 29, 2024

Check out our 2023 Highlight Reel of Brown.

Doeren said there are a few areas on the team where position battles are taking place.

“On the offensive line there’s some competition there. Looking forward to seeing that at the guard positions and the position of left guard in particular. There’s some really talented young receivers. Want to see how they come along and what they can do to help in some spots. On defense we brought in some older DBs. There’s a competition there.”

On Wednesday, former Walk-On, Redshirt Junior Matt McCabe was starting at Left Guard, and Redshirt Junior Anthony Carter Jr. was backing him up. Carter Jr. was the starter last season, and he has been recovering from offseason surgery. On the Right Side, Senior Timothy McKay was with the 1’s, and I expect him to remain there, serving as the starter last season.

On Wednesday, Sophomore KC Concepcion, Redshirt Freshman Noah Rogers and Redshirt Junior Dacari Collins were the starting Wide Receivers. I expect them to be the starters in Week 1 against Western Carolina, but expect a lot of the young talent behind them to fight for playing time as the year progresses. In my opinion, I can’t foresee any player behind Concepcion or Rogers taking their starting roles, but it will be interesting to see if someone pushes Collins for his job.

Obviously Aydan White will be starting at one of the Cornerback spots, and it looks like Sophomore Brandon Cisse is poised start on the other side, but I’m sure Corey Coley and Devon Marshall, who both Transferred in this offseason, are going to fight tooth-and-nail for that spot.

He had some kind words to say about McCabe’s journey from Walk-On to Scholarship Player.

“I’m really proud of Matt. Matt’s worked really hard. He does everything we ask him to do. He plays really hard. He trains really hard. He handles himself well in the community, in the classroom. It’s a great story.”

McCabe was awarded a Scholarship prior to the 2023 season.

Finally, Doeren thinks that NC State and Quarterback Grayson McCall are a perfect match.

“We’re very, very grateful that he’s here, one. Excited for him. Impressed by him. He understands the game. He’s a quick learner. He’s a really good teammate. Goes hard, holds himself to a high standard. Has no problem holding guys accountable and he does it in a good way. He’s demanding but not demeaning with people. He’s got great touch on the football. His game management skills, his clock management, everything. He’s a vet. He’s a great fit in our program.”

This past week, the ACC Network stopped by NC State’s practice for their ACC Football Road Trip, and chatted with Doeren as well.

A couple of notes from that:

Kevin Concepcion will be a part of the return game in some way this year on Special Teams. He was working with the Punt Return team in practice last week.

He also alluded to the fact that opposing Defenses won’t be able to simply focus on KC this year, because if they do, it will open up things for Noah Rogers, Justin Joly, Dacari Collins, Wesley Grimes and the Running Backs.

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