Community News

 

ASHEVILLE, NC – September 11, 2024 – The winter surge of respiratory infections, like COVID-19, has passed. However, over the past 3 years, COVID-19 infections have also surged in August.

The CDC’s COVID Dashboard for the week ending on August 31^st shows:  

• Between 3-4% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 3^rd lowest level of 6 groups and increased since last week.
• Emergency department visits for COVID-19 are moderate in North Carolina, between 3-4% of all visits and stable since last week.

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard for the week ending on August 28^th shows:

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is between 80-100%, the highest level of 5 groups.
• The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample is between 1 to 9%, the lowest level of 3 groups with a positive rate of change.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

The Organic Growers School’s 2nd Annual Sow & Grow Fest will take place Saturday, September 14, at Hickory Nut Gap farm from noon to 5 pm. Allison Stapleton, the development director for the school, spoke with Asheville FM about the event.

The Organic Growers School has been serving farmers, gardeners, and hobbyists of WNC for over 30 years. It began when farmers in the area gathered together to learn to grow in this mountainous region with so many microclimates.

Now in its second year, the Sow & Grow event offers the community a fun and healthy way to learn about organic practices. With activities including a mushroom inoculation demonstration and make-your-own seed bundles and postcards, there is something for everyone. They’ll even have a bouncy house! Farmers from the region will bring their tomatoes for the crowd to taste test and rank. There will even be plant and seed exchanges, so bring seeds you didn’t use this year and trade with a local!

Live music and local vendors will make the fest lively, and a potluck with plenty of farm fresh produce, roasted pork, and grilled steak, will satisfy any appetite. To eat at the potluck, simply bring your own dish to share or a suggested donation of $20.

Allison says the event is free, but the school is asking that people register ahead of time at organicgrowersschool.org. Listen to the entire interview in the AFM archives. See you there!

During this week’s AFM News Hour, we spoke with Christi Hayes of the Trauma Intervention Program (TIP). This national organization is a non-profit, fully volunteer-run program designed to help those who are experiencing emotionally traumatizing emergency situations. Volunteers go through extensive training before helping first responders on the scene. Serving all of Buncombe and Henderson counties, 24/7/365, TIP volunteers offer emotional and practical support to anyone who is experiencing sudden tragedy, including deaths, accidents, and any situation where first responders such as fire, police, or EMS feels emotional help is needed.

Christi says the program has been offered in the Asheville area since 2015. Their next training takes place in person on September 11 and requires no prior experience, “just a willingness to serve.” For more information on how to get involved, visit tipofwnc.org. You can listen to the full interview in the AFM News Hour archive.

 

BUNCOMBE COUNTY – August 29, 2024 – On August 31^st, Buncombe County held an Overdose Awareness Day ceremony at Carrier Park to create more public awareness for this public health problem and to promote local resources to prevent further overdoses and deaths. There were 151 drug overdose deaths in Buncombe County in 2022, almost all were unintentional, according to data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Someone is present at about 40% of overdose deaths. Therefore, overdose deaths can be prevented by the administration of naloxone, a medicine that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose.

Buncombe County receives support from the $29 million opioid settlement fund for programs that are designed to reduce opioid misuse and overdose deaths. The funding will be distributed over the next 14 years. Some of the programs include harm reduction services, naloxone distribution, the post overdose response team, the community paramedic program, and the community reentry team.

Buncombe County Health and Human Services has a harm reduction program at their 40 Coxe Avenue office in Asheville. Here are some features of the program:

• Provides Fentanyl and Xylazine tests strips
• Provides harm reduction supplies
• Provides referrals for medical care and community resources
• Has monthly classes for overdose reversal training

Dr. Shuchin Shukla, Buncombe County’s Medical Substance Use Professional, says ““Opioid use disorder, addiction, and overdose are absolutely preventable and treatable medical conditions. It is up to all of us to work together to improve access to these critical resources for those who are most vulnerable.”

Here’s some local resources:

• The suicide hotline is open anytime, call 9-8-8
• For a medical emergency, call 9-1-1
• For primary health care and Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), call Appalachian Mountain Health at 828-257-4745, Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) at 828-257-4730, or Western North Carolina Community Health Services (WNCCHS) at 828-285-0622
• For a behavioral health crisis hot line, call VAYA Health at 800-849-6127
• United Way sponsors a referral line for support services in Buncombe County and western North Carolina, call 2-1-1

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

BUNCOMBE COUNTY – September 4, 2024 – Almost 80 thousand Buncombe County residents are over the age of 60, representing about 30% of the population. By 2041, 1 out of 4 adults in Buncombe County will be age 65 and older, according to a Community Engagement Needs Assessment by the Deerfield Charitable Foundation this year. Almost 3 million North Carolina residents will be age 65 or older in 2042, according to a NC Health and Human Services report. Last year, Governor Cooper created an executive order for North Carolina to be an age-friendly state. Therefore, the needs of seniors in North Carolina including Buncombe County will require more specialized structures, services, and policies.

It is important to raise awareness of issues that impact seniors. On May 23^rd, Buncombe County held an Age-Friendly Summit. On June 13^th, World Elder Abuse Awareness Day brought partner organizations and people together to discuss solutions locally. This summer a state-sponsored working group will present 100 recommendations to achieve an age-friendly state.

Here’s some important health and social issues that affect seniors:

• Chronic disease management and prevention
• Social isolation
• Abuse and neglect
• Financial exploitation

Here’s some specialized structures, services, and policies that will support seniors:

• Aging in place
• Safe and affordable housing
• Navigation of services and access to care
• Supporting caregivers
• Transportation
• Adult day care centers

Billie Breeden, age-friendly coordinator for Buncombe County DHHS’s Adult and Aging Services, told Mountain Xpress “People need to know all the wonderful things that aging services providers do on a daily basis to support older adults.”

Funding for programs that support seniors are flat despite the growing need for this growing population group. Many of these programs are funded through state, county, and federal allocations. Nongovernmental charitable organizations try to fill in the gaps. Buncombe County receives around $1.7 million each year for aging services from the state and federal government. The county government contributes another one-half million dollars.

In March, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders proposed more federal funding for seniors from $2 billion to $4.6 billion to address the upswing in transportation, nutrition services and other needs older adults will have in the coming decades.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

ASHEVILLE, NC – September 4, 2024 – The winter surge of respiratory infections, like COVID-19, has passed. However, over the past 3 years, COVID-19 infections have also surged in August.

The CDC’s COVID Dashboard for the week ending on August 24^th shows:  

• 2% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 3^rd lowest level of 6 groups and decreased since last week.
• Emergency department visits for COVID-19 are moderate in North Carolina, between 3-4% of all visits and stable since last week.

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard for the week ending on August 21^st shows:

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is between 80-100%, the highest level of 5 groups.
• The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample is between -99 to -10%, the lowest level of 2 groups with a negative rate of change.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour