Opioid response in the real world: Rutherford County commissioners rejected a request to use opioid settlement funds for wound care tied to injection drug use, highlighting the tension between prevention services and how local leaders want to spend settlement money. Maternal health funding: Prisma Health received a $1.6 million Duke Endowment grant to expand a text/phone screening and referral program aimed at improving maternal and infant outcomes and addressing mental health and substance use needs. Medicare pay pressure for doctors: A Medicare physician pay increase for 2026 is moving forward, but lawmakers still face the harder question of whether the boost can be sustained beyond the current patch. Public health and safety at home: A Gaston County woman was charged in the death of a non-verbal autistic woman who died of severe malnutrition, underscoring the risks of neglect and the need for better safeguards. Heat readiness: With temperatures pushing into the 90s, doctors urged hydration, limiting direct sun, and using air-conditioned spaces to prevent heat exhaustion and related illness. Disaster-proofing care: Western North Carolina is getting solar “beehive” microgrids to keep essentials like medical devices and food access running during hurricanes. Food safety: The FDA announced a recall of Farm Rich Pizza Cheese Crunchers in multiple states, including North Carolina, due to possible metal contamination. Housing and health access: Novant and UNC Health are competing to add hospital beds in New Hanover County after the state flagged a need for 225 more.