The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services approved a new 66-bed hospital in New Hanover County.
New Hanover Regional Medical Center will add 30 new beds with the new acute care hospital, and will relocate 36 beds from the NHRMC Orthopedic Hospital, which will no longer offer in-patient services. It will also open eight new operating rooms.
“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement,” said John Gizdic, Novant Health executive vice president and chief business development officer, in a news release. “This will allow us to better care for our neighbors with more accessible care and additional services.”
New Hanover and Brunswick counties, as well as UNCW and NHRMC will halt the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. (Port City Daily/File)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it will pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the United States, causing N.C. public health, local counties and providers to follow suit on Tuesday.
The pause comes after six 18-to-48-year-old women, within six to 13 days after receiving the J&J vaccine, were diagnosed with a rare blood clot (cerebral venous sinus thrombosis) in combination with low blood platelets (thrombocytopenia). It left one dead and another in serious condition.
Roger Murray Swilley
WILMINGTON Roger Murray Swilley, 67, passed away Friday, April 16, 2021, following a courageous battle against cancer. He was the beloved husband of Judy for nearly 22 years. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1953 to the late Paul Swilley and the late Ruth Swilley.
Roger was a nurse anesthetist at heart, having practiced anesthesia in many locations across the country, but moving to Wilmington in the late 1980s to practice at Cape Fear Hospital. He then took his love of medicine to PPD, where he was one of the original employees at the company.
He always had a passion for the water. In recent years, he loved riding his jet ski on the Intracoastal Waterway. He also loved to travel and visited many countries with his wife Judy. Most of all, he loved his family and friends. Roger and his wife were soulmates, best friends and deeply in love after 26 years together.
WILMINGTON After 2 a.m. early Tuesday morning, a vehicle crashed on Market Street.
While traveling west on Market Street, the driver, Antwain Rogers, lost control of his vehicle. The 2015 Ford Fusion struck a fire hydrant and a tree. Rogers, 37, was ejected from his vehicle and transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center where he died from his injuries.
Wilmington Police Department’s traffic unit is investigating the crash, which involved no other vehicles.
“We offer our deepest condolences to all affected by this tragic case,” WPD’s spokesperson said in a release.
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More than 60,000 people have been fully vaccinated in New Hanover County. (Port City Daily / Courtesy New Hanover County)
While just a month or so ago, folks were scurrying to get hard-to-come-by vaccine appointments in the tri-county region, today slots are readily available. Currently, all three public health departments New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender are reporting appointments open. They have been all week, in fact.
Does that mean people are less interested in receiving the Covid-19 vaccine? Or that there is more supply?
Judging by state numbers alone, over the last five weeks, North Carolina was vaccinating over 400,000 people a week, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ dashboard. This week the number was down almost by half, at around 230,000 vaccinations.