North Carolina
Kody Kinsley looks to make his appointment as HHS secretary official
By Rose Hoban
As Kody Kinsley, secretary of the state Division of Well being and Human Companies, answered a lawmaker’s query about methods to get extra nurses skilled in North Carolina’s group school system, he observed a gaggle of college kids strolling by the floor-to-ceiling home windows of the North Carolina Legislative Constructing.
He didn’t miss a beat.
“Oh, there’s me in fourth grade,” Kinsley dropped in mid-sentence, earlier than persevering with his reply to lawmakers on the first a part of his official affirmation listening to.
The remark was indicative of one in all Kinsley’s frequent speaking factors. He’s a North Carolina native who grew up in a low-income, working-class household in Wilmington. As a baby, Kinsley lacked medical health insurance, ate free faculty lunches and received dental care courtesy of the native well being division. He has argued that these experiences make him uniquely skilled to steer the 18,000 workers of the North Carolina Division of Well being and Human Companies who usually serve individuals just like the youngster he was.
“I’ve advised just a few of you and a few people, the sergeant at arms, that the final time I used to be on the third ground of this constructing was in fourth grade once I got here right here for my public faculty journey,” Kinsley mentioned. “I’m so humbled to have had the chance to serve in so many roles of great duty and public belief.”
This week, Kinsley is hoping that his appointment as DHHS secretary turns into official some 5 months after he began the job. Since January, when his predecessor Mandy Cohen stepped away from the job and shifted to work within the non-public sector, Kinsley has been in an performing place.
Formal affirmation hearings began within the state senate on Wednesday.
As a doctor and public well being skilled, Cohen was well-suited to steer throughout a coronavirus pandemic that drew on a number of points of her coaching.
Now, Kinsley argues that his vastly completely different biography — as a North Carolina native, as a first-generation school pupil who attended Brevard Faculty earlier than heading for coaching at Harvard and a grasp’s diploma on the College of California at Berkeley, as a veteran of first the Obama, then the Trump administrations and as an undersecretary at DHHS earlier than being tapped to steer the division — additionally give him sturdy {qualifications} to steer the division because it strikes past the pandemic.
“I nonetheless know that my life is healthier due to the investments the state and the Normal Meeting made in packages that created financial alternatives, public well being companies, a robust public schooling and extra,” Kinsley advised the Senate Well being Care Committee. “These early experiences foster in me a ardour to serve others to pay it ahead, they usually form how I view my position as secretary if confirmed.”
Priorities
Sen. Jim Burgin (R-Angier) began the affirmation listening to asking about when the COVID-19 state of emergency would finish, one thing that’s been a problem for Republican lawmakers.
Kinsley defined that probably the most necessary powers the state of emergency provides his division is to permit for motion of sufferers between well being care amenities extra simply. As an illustration, Kinsley advised lawmakers that throughout the latest hearth at a Winston-Salem fertilizer plant, these powers made it simpler to maneuver close by nursing house residents additional away.
“The second software that’s notably necessary for us is the flexibility to have standing orders in place that permit for a no-red-tape, no-bureaucracy fast strategy for people to have the ability to get vaccinated, to get examined and to get remedy,” Kinsley mentioned.
Kinsley advised lawmakers that one in all his priorities as secretary can be to enhance the psychological well being system. He spoke about how the issue of individuals in psychological well being disaster, sitting in emergency departments ready on a psychiatric mattress to open up, is as a lot an issue of knowledge administration as it’s of mattress provide.
“Whereas people are ready in emergency departments, what’s also known as behavioral well being boarding, we’ll have upwards of 100 individuals ready at any given second to get a psychiatric mattress, we have now 36 % of these beds which are empty,” Kinsley advised lawmakers.
Whereas the answer isn’t thrilling, Kinsley mentioned that creating a greater knowledge administration system will maintain observe of open beds, specifically these in amenities that can take individuals who lack insurance coverage.
“I simply don’t have good knowledge,” Kinsley mentioned. “We don’t have the know-how and the infrastructure and the reporting crucial for us to actually perceive the contours of this downside to resolve it.”
One other precedence for Kinsley is to supply extra psychological well being help to kids.
“Sadly, our kids and the behavioral well being wants of our youngsters have languished in our state for much too lengthy,” he advised lawmakers. “There’s been a variety of deal with youngsters that get in-patient care, particularly round youngsters which are engaged within the foster care system.”
However he additionally advised the affirmation committee that the state must put money into prevention packages to assist maintain youngsters from descending into disaster.
A closing behavioral well being problem Kinsley recognized is that of getting sufficient assets to individuals with substance use points. Greater than 3,595 North Carolinians died from opioid overdose in 2021, and greater than 8,800 individuals ended up in emergency departments with overdoses, each numbers surpassing the document excessive quantity seen throughout the top of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Kinsley mentioned he was excited in regards to the inflow of $750 million in opioid settlement cash that can move to North Carolina over the approaching twenty years. However he additionally known as these {dollars} a drop within the bucket in comparison with what might move to the state if North Carolina have been to increase the Medicaid program, one thing that’s been on the desk since 2012.
Medicaid growth entrance and middle
One of many strongest messages Kinsley gave to the senators questioning him at Wednesday’s affirmation listening to was that it’s time for North Carolina to embrace an expanded Medicaid. The state is just one of 12 within the nation that has not taken benefit of the coverage, one thing that was initially supplied as a part of the Inexpensive Care Act.
If North Carolina expanded, it might add some 600,000 low-income employees to this system and go a protracted solution to lowering the burden of uninsured individuals unable to entry psychological well being and substance use remedy, Kinsley harassed to lawmakers.
For years, members of the Republican-controlled North Carolina senate staunchly refused to think about the coverage, successfully killing it. However in latest weeks, the management within the senate has modified route. A invoice is shifting via the legislature this week so as to add these individuals to this system.
There’s additionally some huge cash at stake, about $4.8 billion in annual funds with an extra one-time bonus of $1.5 billion.
“I consider that it is a transformational alternative for North Carolina, maybe as soon as in a technology and even as soon as in 100 years funding,” he mentioned, mentioning that the excessive variety of uninsured within the state put North Carolina on the again foot as COVID-19 began making inroads within the state. And it was troublesome to get individuals who have been uninsured into care throughout the ever-evolving pandemic.
“If you inform people that don’t have medical health insurance, ‘in case you have a query about your vaccine, name your physician.’ It’s type of arduous,” he mentioned.
Senators didn’t vote on the affirmation on Wednesday however will come again on Thursday to probably transfer Kinsley’s nomination ahead. Given the congenial environment of the listening to, Kinsley mentioned he thought the years he’d spent constructing relationships with lawmakers would yield a constructive end result.
“It’s my expertise working in authorities now for over the previous decade, that in the long run, relationships are what matter” Kinsley mentioned after the affirmation listening to. “There’s going to be issues, and it’s important to have the mandatory capital with individuals round attending to know people in order that manner, when issues come up, you’ll be able to undergo them.”
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By Jane Doe
North Carolina Well being Information
North Carolina Well being Information is an unbiased, non-partisan, not-for-profit, statewide information group devoted to protecting all issues well being care in North Carolina. Go to NCHN at northcarolinahealthnews.org. (on the net, this may be hyperlinked)
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(This article will be updated. Read our earlier coverage here.)
Relief efforts continue in Asheville and the Western North Carolina area where a major disaster due to Tropical Storm Helene has left communities devastated, roads impassable and thousands without power. There were only estimates Tuesday evening about the extent of the destruction, with the full scope of Helene devastation not expected to be known for some time.
Check back for live updates as they roll in throughout the day Wednesday.
The death toll from Tropical Storm Helene has risen to at least 69 people in Western North Carolina, officials report.
So far, 57 deaths have been confirmed in Buncombe County, six in Henderson County, one in Macon County and five in Avery County.
A ski resort area in western North Carolina near the Tennessee border, Avery County reported Tuesday night that many residents are still unaccounted for. The information came after a viral social media post claimed that 200 people had died in the county seat of Newland, but Avery County Manager Philip Barrier on Tuesday said the number was false.
— Staff Reports
Residents in all Givens locations, including Givens Estates in Asheville, Givens Gerber Park in South Asheville, Givens Highland Farms in Black Mountain and Givens Great Laurels in Waynesville, are safe and accounted for, CEO Kevin Schwab reported Oct. 1.
Team members and health services staff are on duty and conducting routine wellness checks, according to a news release provided by Givens. The release also notes that auxiliary generators are providing power, meal service is available, adequate drinking and nonpotable water is available and regional communication continues to be extremely limited.Immediate needs are for nursing volunteers and donations of drinking water, sanitary wipes.
Anyone who can help or who needs to get in contact can call 828-274-4800.
— Staff Reports
A bevy of nurses, relief workers and supplies from across the U.S. are pouring into Western North Carolina this week to aid hospitals besieged by patients amid the deadly flooding from Tropical Storm Helene.
More than 100 nurses as well as physicians arrived Monday at Mission Hospital in Asheville from sister hospitals across the nation within the HCA Healthcare system, which owns Mission and is headquartered in Nashville, HCA spokesperson Harlow Sumerford said.
They’ve set up mobile units with kitchens, bathrooms and handwashing stations and are setting up mini marts inside the hospital and in other HCA hospitals across the region to provide doctors, nurses and other hospital staff with free groceries, including food, water and toiletries.
HCA also is providing hundreds of thousands of bottles of water, tens of thousands of gallons of fuel and satellite data networks to Mission Hospital, which dodged the flooding that decimated much of surrounding Buncombe County but is now scrambling to keep up with an onslaught of patients.
— Beth Warren, USA Today Network
Over 4,500 federal rescue and aid workers are headed to the areas smashed by Hurricane Helene. But U.S. prosecutors say another deluge of people are on the way: Charlatans, opportunists and disreputable contractors looking to exploit the victims of the storm.
Federal, state and local officials have put out warnings this week for hurricane victims – especially those who are desperate – to beware of people showing up at their door or calling them, claiming they want to help. Defrauding of hurricane victims and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency itself is a multi-million dollar industry for criminals, according to experts, federal authorities and government warnings.
“Con artists and criminals may try to obtain money or steal personal information through fraud or identity theft after Hurricane Helene,” FEMA officials warned Tuesday. “In some cases, thieves try to apply for FEMA assistance using names, addresses and Social Security numbers they have stolen from people affected by the disaster.”
For more information, including tips on how to avoid scams, read the full story here.
— Michael Loria, USA TODAY
In the mountains of western North Carolina − one of the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Helene − moms are doing what they do best: taking care of others. Local Facebook groups, previously filled with weekend activity recommendations and hand-me-down clothes offerings, are now swamped with moms ready to go to great lengths to help one another − even while in dire need themselves.
They’re sharing formula and baby wipes. They’re giving away their kids books and toys. They’re offering up cribs, mattresses, meals. One mom even offered her frozen breast milk.
Read the full story here.
— Charles Trepany, USA TODAY
Tyson Foods will bring a Meals that Matter Disaster Relief team to Weaverville in northern Buncombe County later this week to distribute hot meals, water and ice to community members impacted by Tropical Storm Helene.
Company volunteers will be set up at the Walmart Supercenter, 25 Northridge Commons Parkway, from noon-5 p.m. on Friday and from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. daily beginning Saturday.
Volunteers, in partnership with local food banks, have been on the ground in multiple states after Hurricane Helene made landfall last week, according to a company release. Over the weekend, a team served 10,240 meals to residents in Perry, Florida. On Oct. 1, a team in Augusta, Georgia served 6,840 meals with plans to distribute more Wednesday.
— Staff Reports.
North Carolina
Couple narrowly avoids mudslide triggered by Hurricane Helene on North Carolina highway: wild video
A couple driving through the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina narrowly avoided being swept away by a mudslide triggered by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.
Alan and Kelly Keffer captured the moment a mudslide clipped the back of their vehicle on their dashboard camera.
“Whoa!” Alan said off-camera.
The couple managed to get past the mudslide uninjured.
Behind them, a few semi-trucks and other smaller vehicles stopped, while others pulled over and parked on the side of Interstate 40.
Debris including rocks collapsed onto the interstate, rising higher than the semi-trucks just behind the Keffer’s car and over the cement barrier on the side of the road.
Mud splattered across their windshield, obscuring the couple’s view of anything behind their vehicle.
I-40 was one of several interstates closed in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee following numerous disasters triggered by the devastating storm.
Buncombe County saw the bulk of the destruction in North Carolina. A majority of the damage — and death toll — comes from Asheville, NC, where the Lake Lure Dam was compromised during the storm.
North Carolina
Asheville mother recounts last moments with son before he was swept away by Helene floods: ‘He became my hero’
Three members of a North Carolina family, including a 7-year-old boy, during the disastrous flooding from Helene. Now, the survivors share their story of immense grief and comforting faith.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Not all heroes wear capes – and sometimes, they’re only 7 years old.
Just ask Meghan Drye, the mother of Micah, a little boy who wanted to be a superhero for Halloween, but was tragically swept away by floods that struck Asheville, North Carolina, last week.
The floodwater rose high enough that Drye and her son, along with her parents, had to climb to the roof of their home for safety. However, the flood became so powerful that it broke the home apart.
At that moment, Drye said her son called for Jesus to save him.
Micah.
(Meghan Drye / FOX Weather)
“He reached for something past flesh, past human, past anything that even grown adults, I think, would reach for,” she said. “My son called out to the one God Almighty. And I think at that moment he was rescued, and he became my hero, and I think all of them carried me through that moment.”
All four were sent downstream, with Micah being torn away from his mother.
HELENE DEATH TOLL CLIMBS TO 138 AS SEARCH FOR MISSING IN NORTH CAROLINA CONTINUES
Drye spent three hours in the water, becoming entangled by roots and trees. She said she held on to the vegetation, but something greater told her to let go.
View from Drye’s rooftop, where she, her son and parents sought refuge from the flood.
(Jessica Drye Turner / FOX Weather)
“In the midst of the chaos, all I heard was God telling me to be still and to stop fighting the water,” Drye recalled. “That was Him, that was prayers. That was prayers that told me to be still and to let the water carry me to where I needed to be rescued.”
She then found herself between carriers for two hours, which allowed her to be spotted by a man and then provided for by a rescue team.
Micah’s body was recovered about a quarter-mile away from where Drye was rescued.
“My grief today is unfathomable. I’m sorrowful. I feel broken,” Drye said. “But what is the main thing that I take away from grief is the uplifting of all the prayers that I have received.”
Drye’s parents, who were lost in the flood.
(Meghan Drye / FOX Weather)
Remnants from Hurricane Helene drenched the state of North Carolina last week, dropping nearly 30 inches in some spots – or about 4-months-worth of rain – in only three days.
HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER
To support Drye and her family in remembrance of Micah, you can visit their GoFundMe page here.
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