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More than 6,000 people with mental health or substance abuse problems live in group homes across North Carolina, but state officials said Tuesday that a weekend stabbing is no reason for concern by people who live near group homes.
If there was ever any doubt that former Gov. Mike Easley deliberately hid public business from the public, his “Nick Danger” private e-mail account should settle the question. The account name, which the ex-guv used backward, suggests a conscious effort to keep a secret.
Thank you to the Journal for your continuing coverage of the mental-health crisis in Forsyth County (”Almost 140 gather to talk about CenterPoint,” Jan. 23). However, referring to CenterPoint as a “mental-health agency” is misleading. It is an administrative entity responsible for ensuring quality mental-health care and how public money is spent.
It is unfortunate that your Feb. 4 news article “Perdue: SEANC speaks for state workers” devoted so much space to opponents of workers’ rights and their same, tired arguments. North Carolina is one of only two states to outlaw public employee collective bargaining, and exactly zero data exist to suggest that the provision of public services is less efficient in the other 48 states.
The Gaston Community Healthcare Commission, an initiative of Gaston Together, announces the 2010 officers and new Advisory Board Members. Brian Boyle will serve as the board chair while the vice chair will be David Fogarty. Cathy Kenzig is the immediate past chair. New Advisory Board Members are Steve Eaton, Vera Huntsinger, Veronica Feduniec, and Chad Ghorley.
Where were you Jan. 27, 2010, at 6 p.m.?
It was a Thursday. The temperature hovered right at freezing. Two stars already shone.
We all have points in time or space that remain fixed in our memories. An hour and a place fuse in meaning, because at that moment and in that spot something occurred that changed the trajectory of our lives.
Universal Health Services Inc. has tapped a veteran executive within its ranks to serve as interim chief executive at Old Vineyard Behavioral Health Services.
Charlene Arnett took over the duties yesterday, according to the company that owns Old Vineyard. The for-profit company said it plans to recruit a full-time chief executive.
Old Vineyard Behavioral Health Services plays a crucial role in local mental-health care, with many patients and their families depending on its services. But as the organization has corrected problems uncovered by investigators and made plans for a psychiatric emergency department, it has been silent about a turnover in its leadership and its plans to fill several vacant positions. CenterPoint Human Services, which oversees public mental-health care in the area, should demand transparency from Old Vineyard.
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — The admiral in charge of Navy hospitals in the east region says the quality of care at the hospital in North Carolina is excellent.
Rear Adm. Bob Kiser said Tuesday he had “no concerns about the quality of care” at the Camp Lejeune hospital.
Public questions about the quality of mental health care at the base were raised last year by the September firing of Dr. Kernan Manion. He’s a brain trauma specialist who had complained to commanders about poor facilities, inadequate care and weak security.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Feb 08, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Targacept, Inc. (TRGT 20.31, +0.08, +0.40%) , a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel NNR Therapeutics (TM), today announced that it has been awarded a grant of $304,000 from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF). The grant is to fund a project entitled: “Development of an alpha6*-selective Neuronal Nicotinic Receptor (NNR) Imaging Agent as a Parkinson’s Disease Biomarker” and is the second awarded to Targacept by MJFF in the last six months.
Some residents of a Holly Springs neighborhood are voicing concerns after a stabbing this weekend at the Vagap Health group home. They say the residents, who suffer from mental illness, are poorly supervised.
An elderly patient died at a state mental hospital in Goldsboro last week after he reportedly choked on his food.
Lawrence Russell Jr., 80, died Feb. 2 following the incident at Cherry Hospital. According to a state report, Russell “appeared to choke” while eating his lunch. The staff attempted the Heimlich maneuver and other life-saving measures, according to the report, but were unable to revive him.
A patient on the hospital’s geriatric ward, the report says the staff had physically restrained Russell, who was from Beaufort County, the day before his death for three minutes. The report says there were no “complications” when Russell was restrained, but provides no further information about the incident.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Feb 04, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Targacept, Inc. (TRGT 20.23, -0.21, -1.03%) , a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel NNR Therapeutics (TM), today announced that it will report financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009 on Thursday, February 11, 2010, after the U.S. financial markets close.
The uncertainty surrounding Old Vineyard Behavioral Health Services in recent months has taken a new twist with the resignation of its top official.
Rob McCartney stepped down as chief executive of Old Vineyard last month for health reasons related to his heart, according to Betty Taylor, the director of CenterPoint Human Services. CenterPoint oversees Old Vineyard as the local manager for mental-health services.
A resident of a state-regulated group home in Holly Springs is facing attempted murder charges for stabbing another man with a screwdriver.
Police have charged 22-year-old Gregory Henry McClain with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.
The victim was taken to Wake Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
McClain is in the Wake County jail under a $1.5 million bond.
The incident happened Saturday at a state-regulated home for adults with mental illness, located off Main Street in Holly Springs.
Perhaps North Carolina needs to revise its public records law, but we doubt it. What we really need is a governor who will see to it that all government records be retained and that, with certain exceptions clearly stated in the law, those records be available to anyone who asks to see them. Gov. Bev Perdue has endorsed such transparency in government, but the practice of her predecessor Mike Easley was to limit the possibility the public would ever see certain records on sensitive subjects.
According to recent studies, more than 33,000 people die by suicide in the United States every year. At this rate, someone in America will take their own life about every 16 minutes and an attempt at suicide is made nearly every minute. It’s hard to imagine that 90 people will die daily because they feel that their lives are no longer worth living.
RALEIGH — In the midst of a fiscal crisis, North Carolina has overshot its budget for in-home help to poor and disabled people by as much as $10 million a month, even though as many as 40 percent of recipients may not qualify.
The state-run Medicaid program known as personal care services has spent the $185 million budgeted to last until June, and more. Medicaid officials told a legislative study commission Thursday that the program continues to pay companies to provide generous hours of service to many among its nearly 40,000 clients, regardless of their level of need.
Regarding the Jan. 27 article “Mother camps out to get spot in mental ward for son”: It would be a mistake to assume that the budget crisis is responsible for the pathetic state of our state’s mental health system.
The fact is that people with disabilities are not valued by our state and not seen as worthy of humane care.
Purcell is a member of the MH/DD/SAS Legislative Ovesight Committee.
Incumbent North Carolina Sen. Bill Purcell, who has represented Richmond County in the General Assembly for more than a decade, has announced he will seek re-election. One Republican candidate is already mounting a public campaign for the spot.
In sum, we conclude that the Secretary’s determination that Universal was not in compliance with Medicare participation requirements was supported by substantial evidence. We also conclude that CMS’s finding of immediate jeopardy was not clearly erroneous, and that the civil monetary penalties imposed were reasonable. Universal Healthcare’s petition is, therefore,
Barbara Cooper thought justice for her late father was finally just a day away.
A judge had already found that the owners of an assisted living home in Cumberland County owed $1.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages for the “egregiously wrongful acts” their employees committed while caring for her father, Marine veteran Joe Cooper, in 2002 and 2003.
The likely result for Barbara Cooper – failure to receive any recompense despite a clear legal finding in her favor – is far from uncommon in North Carolina, where long-term care centers aren’t required to carry liability insurance and legal maneuvers often shield individuals from actions against their companies. The Cooper case is unusual only because of the level of detail that’s publicly available – many such suits are settled privately, out of court.
Now the mall has found a new tenant — the Hefner Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salisbury– that has big plans for part of the space. The VA plans to open a branch clinic that will take up about 15,000 square feet.
The clinic is expected to open in early summer.
“It’s something different for us, but in these economic times we’re facing right now, landlords and such are having to look outside the box a little bit,” said Tarron Coalson, the mall’s general manager and leasing agent.
On Thursday, law enforcement officers, members of the National Alliance for Mental Illness and other agencies offering mental health services met at the Henderson County Public Library.
It isn’t a windfall and should not be viewed that way by the public. If any of 4,300 disabled Iraq and Afghanistan veterans end up with bigger benefit checks, it will be because they earned more than they’ve been getting.
The veterans, who are being notified of their right to join a class-action lawsuit challenging their disability ratings, were discharged with many ailments, but they have one in common: post-traumatic stress disorder.
Click here to view the video of Kris Parks presentation at the NAMI Western Carolina meeting January 19. She is making presentations for a combined effort of Disability Rights North Carolina and fellow advocacy organizations concerning proposed legislation that would exempt those with a severe mental disability from the death penalty. With support from a generous grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, DRNC is working both to educate our citizens about the reasons it is fair and just to exclude such persons from capital punishment and in so doing, to raise awareness about mental illness.
For more information about this initiative and to contact Kris to speak to your group or organization, click here.We hope we've helped make a difference and hope to make one for many years to come. Needless to say, your support is deeply appreciated from the heart.
Our appreciation as always for the generous support of the A.J. Fletcher Foundation.
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