Substance Use/Mental Health

Substance use

• Edgecombe County Health Department is partnering with Edgecombe County rescue and Edgecombe County Coordinated Opiate Recovery Effort (CORE) to plan for a community paramedicine program that will provide community based health care approaches to the citizens of Edgecombe County with the program's main focus on opiod overdose.

Safer Syringe Initiative

• Edgecombe County Health Department is partnering with Carolina Family Health Centers' Freedom Hill Community Health Center to make them an extension site of the Edgecombe Safe Syringe Initiative.  

MAT

• Carolina Family Health Centers started offering weekly recovery groups as of February 15, 2023. The FREEDOM RECOVERY GROUP is a support group of people working together on the four dimensions of recovery: health, home, purpose, and community. We are part of Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous (MARA), and support those who are prescribed medication as part of their recovery journey, though we welcome all individuals regardless of their recovery path.

Mental Health

• Edgecombe County Rural Health Network partnered with ECU Health and Eastpointe to conduct a provider education meeting around involuntary committment procedures and legal updates.  

Health Disparities and Health Equity

Advancing Equity

• Edgecombe County Health Department increased the number of healthy food retail designations within the county from zero to one—getting rid of one food desert. The North Carolina Healthy Food Retail Collaborative awarded GNS Express Mart of Edgecombe County as a North Carolina Healthy Food Retail Designation on August 31, 2022. The store is now featured on the online statewide directory for small food stores with the NC Healthy Food Retail Designation to spread awareness of the store's healthier food options.

Edgecombe County Rural Health Network

• Edgecombe County Rural Health Network in partnership with Access To Care Network linked 2,551 uninsured Edgecombe County residents to care and other resources in 2022.
• Edgecombe County Rural Health Network in partnership with Access To Care Network held 5 open enrollment events in Edgecombe County during the ACA open enrollent period starting November 1, 2022 through January 15, 2023.

Healthy Communities

• Since September 7th, 2022, Edgecombe County Health Department (ECHD) has been partnering with the owner of McEachin Convenience Store for the store to meet the NC Healthy Food Retail Designation requirements. ECHD was able to obtain partners, such as Conetoe Family Life Center, for donations in order to increase the store’s healthier food options. As of January 2023, the store has met two new requirements towards the NC Healthy Food Retail Designation product criteria.

Social Determinants of Health

Healthy Opportunities Pilot/NCCARE360

• Edgecombe County is participating in the Healthy Opportunities Pilot. The Healthy Opportunities Pilots is a comprehensive program to test and evaluate the impact of providing select evidence-based, non-medical interventions related to housing, food, transportation and interpersonal safety and toxic stress to high-needs Medicaid enrollees.  Importantly, the Pilots will allow for the establishment and evaluation of a systematic approach to integrating and financing evidence-based, non-medical services into the delivery of healthcare. If shown to be effective in improving health outcomes and reducing healthcare costs after rigorous evaluation, the NC Department of Health and Human Services will look to systematically integrate high-value Pilot services statewide through NC Medicaid Managed Care.

The top three leading causes of death have remained the same since the last CHA. Data has shown some variation in number of deaths and rates. Heart Disease and Cancer have increased in the number of deaths and rates. Cerebrovascular Disease decreased in number of deaths while the rates increased, showing the trend of population decline in Edgecombe County.

Since the last CHNA, syphilis has become an emerging issue in Edgecombe County as well as across the state.  According to the North Carolina STD Surveillance Report, in 2020 Edgecombe County had 19 syphilis cases at a rate of 37.4.  In 2021, Edgecombe County had an increase in syphilis cases from 19 to 35 at a rate of 72.4.

New Initiatives

• Edgecombe County Health Department's Child Health Program
• Edgecombe County Community Paramedicine Program
• Healthy Opportunities Pilot