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When your house is flooded and all your soggy belongings are piled on the street in front of your home, having a cavity or a toothache might seem like a small problem. But it could become a bigger problem for residents of Avery County, where one of the primary dental clinics was inundated with floodwaters generated by the remnants of Hurricane Helene in late September. (Baxley, 11/11)

More than a month after Helene wreaked havoc on western North Carolina, the regional Veterans Affairs' health care system is still sending teams to visit veterans who remain isolated and in need of vital supplies. Some of the biggest initial issues like road access have improved, said Matthew Bain, a nurse who was part of three VA outreach teams roving the mountains on a recent day. But things are still far from normal. (Price, 11/10)

One week after Tropical Storm Helene hit western North Carolina, Asheville resident Sonya Lynn woke up with stomach cramps that she could only compare to going into labor. “The cramps woke me out of a dead sleep,” Lynn told Carolina Public Press. “I started noticing severe bloating, constant diarrhea and nausea.” Lynn went to Mercy Urgent Care, where she was diagnosed with E. coli. The facility put her on antibiotics, but a few days later she was in the emergency room with extreme dehydration. (Sartwell, 11/9)

A judge on Friday found a northeast Missouri hospital board guilty of “gross violations” of the Sunshine Law and voided all the actions taken during illegal closed meetings in August 2022. Circuit Judge Rick Roberts also ruled that Scotland County Hospital must also pay a civil fine of $5,000 and attorneys fees to its former CEO, Dr. Randy Tobler. (Keller, 11/11)

A federal judge has again given the state more time to end its practice of holding mental health patients in emergency departments for prolonged periods. For over a decade, people held involuntarily for mental health treatment have faced lengthy waits in the emergency room – often days or longer – before they’re transferred to an appropriate inpatient facility, because the state has too few psychiatric beds. (Cuno-Booth, 11/10)

County Commissioner Rick Bailey knows immediately when one of his Johnson County constituents has suffered a health scare. That’s typically when the calls and texts roll in from residents wanting to know more about ambulance service for those living outside the city limits of Cleburne or Burleson. “I do get complaints if there has been an accident or a heart attack, saying ‘Hey, why did it take so long?’” Bailey said. (Langford, 11/11)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: California Dengue Cases Prompt Swift Response From Public Health Officials 

Jason Farned and his team at the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District had spent years preparing for the likely arrival of dengue, a dangerous virus typically found in tropical climates outside the mainland United States. They’d watched nervously as invasive Aedes mosquito species that can carry the virus appeared in Los Angeles about a decade ago and began to spread, likely introduced by international trade and enticed to stay by a warming climate that makes it easier for mosquitoes to thrive. (Boyd-Barrett, 11/12)

The last time Mark Palinski went to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, he was asked to leave and never come back. He stills remembers the argument: All he had done was advocate for the use of the “gold standard” treatment opioid addiction, a common medication called buprenorphine. To Palinski, buprenorphine is a godsend. It helped him finally beat opioid addiction decades after he was prescribed Vicodin for a schoolyard kickball accident, leaving him hooked on painkillers at age 11. (Facher, 11/12)

Native Americans now have the highest rate of drug-overdose deaths among teenagers and young adults of any ethnic group. At a Portland-based Native American health-care nonprofit, prevention specialists and tribal elders are blending traditional horsemanship and other Native culture with clinical approaches to prevent addiction before it starts. (Wild, 11/11)