The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds in Fayetteville
Thursday, March 30, 9-11 a.m.
Saint Matthews United Methodist Church
202 Hope Mills Rd., Fayetteville
Join our Partners in Health and Wholeness initiative for a Clergy Breakfast in Fayetteville on Opioid Crisis, the Faith Community Responds. At this breakfast, you will learn about the impact in our state, what harm reduction is, and what congregations can do to get involved.
Click here to register.
Health Ministries
Medicaid expansion moving in NC House
A bill to expand Medicaid in North Carolina, providing hundreds of thousands of the state’s working poor with insurance moved forward Tuesday at the General Assembly. Crucial negotiations remain ahead in the Senate. House lawmakers moved House Bill 76 through two committees Tuesday, February 14th with no debate and no public criticism beyond a handful of audible “no” votes during one of the two committee stops. The bill is expected to head to the House floor for a pair of required votes Wednesday and Thursday.
During the Public Health Emergency, in exchange for additional federal funds, states agreed not to dis-enroll medicaid patients. That means that when the Public Health Emergency for Covid ends on May 11th, 5-8 million people nationally will lose health coverage through Medicaid. It means in North Carolina, where our state legislature has not chosen to expand medicaid, North Carolina Health & Human Services expects that 37,000 North Carolinians will lose health coverage through medicaid. What can you do? You can educate yourself on and advocate for medicaid expansion. Medicaid expansion, if accepted by the state of North Carolina, would mean that 90% of the cost would be paid for by the federal government. Learn more at www.care4carolina.com, including how to contact your local elected officials and then please reach out to them to advocate for medicaid expansion to protect the medically vulnerable in our state. You can also read Care4Carolina’s latest article on medicaid expansion found here: https://care4carolina.com/2023/a-medicaid-expansion-valentine-for-north-carolina-healthcare-providers/
*This Information is being shared by the NC Conference Health Team
Health Team Update – February 7, 2023
The Conference Health Team continues to work to share vital information for the well-being of our entire connection. In this update, we have some updated information about COVID-19 and a new mental health resource.
COVID Update
Rev. Lindsay Collins, Health Team chair, delivers the latest COVID update from the Conference Health Team and Dr. Wes Wallace. As our churches and communities continue to feel the impact of the pandemic, access to information and resources becomes increasingly important. With the Public Health Declaration for COVID coming to an end in May, what does that mean for us?
Mental Health Resource
An updated mental health resource from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), FindTreatment.gov, is now available.
This newly revamped and expanded site offers access and information for mental and substance use disorders. Searches on the site are confidential and anonymous, and information on treatment options and facilities can be easily sorted, filtered, and printed or accessed on mobile devices.
Health Ministry Encourages Flu Shots
From the NC Department of Health and Human Services:
“The best defense against serious illness from flu is the annual vaccine, available for everyone six months and older. Studies have shown that vaccines reduce the risk of flu-associated deaths by half in children with high-risk medical conditions and by two-thirds in healthy children. Vaccination can also make illness milder for those who do get the flu. Yet, the national flu vaccination rate is lower than the last two years for children and adults.
Certain groups are at higher risk for serious illness from flu, including children younger than five, pregnant women, people over 65 and those with certain chronic medical conditions, such as heart or lung disease. More than half of the children who die from flu have no known medical condition that would put them at higher risk.
Get your flu vaccines, especially parents of children younger than five. We have a social media toolkit, a new PSA, as as well as three news releases (vaccines, adult death, pediatric death) with valuable information. You can find a vaccine location at myspot.nc.gov/flu. ”
COVID-19 Update for October 2022
As we enter the Fall season, our Health Ministries Team is back with an update and helpful information from Dr. Wes Wallace. Thanks to Rev. Lindsay Collins, Health Team chair, for the video recapping the latest information.
COVID-19 Update for May 17, 2022
God who tends to the sick and the wounded,
Our hearts are heavy with the news of 1 million American lives lost from coronavirus and over 5 million more lives lost worldwide.
How long, O Lord, must we be plagued by this disease?
Jesus, during your earthly ministry you healed people from physical, mental, and spiritual wounds. Be present with those who need to be healed because of COVID-19. So many of us are left wounded by COVID. Some of our scars are physical as we fight the active disease and the long-term effects of this disease. Some of us have had our faith shaken by the loss of those that we love to this disease. Some of us are part of the new mental health pandemic that is rising to the surface in the wake of COVID.
As we think about what has been lost during this pandemic so many faces are brought into our minds. So many reflections of You that we can no longer see face to face. We thank you for the lives of all those we have lost, those known to us and those unknown to us. There is so much anger and pain carried by we who miss them. Renew our hope in the resurrection and the promise of Eternal Life.
God, we ask that you would take away the fear, anxiety and feelings of isolation from people receiving treatment or quarantining. Give them a sense of purpose in pursuing health and protecting their neighbor from exposure to the disease. Protect those at high risk from the virus. Renew the energy of healthcare professionals, caregivers, and essential workers. Allow struggling people to give themselves permission to find help and may they find the help that they need. We ask that you keep COVID-19 from spreading.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. Amen.*
*Prayer written by the Rev. Lindsay Collins
The New York Times article mentioned in the video.