News

North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) Emergency Preparedness Unit and partners are conducting a full-scale exercise on Thursday, Feb. 29, at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. The exercise will provide training for a public health and medical response event involving HHS, N.D. Department of Emergency Services, N.D. Bureau of Criminal Investigation, N.D. Parks and Recreation Department, Morton County Sheriff’s Office, Morton County Emergency Management and other public health partners and aims to demonstrate the ability to conduct large-scale response and recovery operations.  

North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) has received final approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to expand access and add services to the state’s Medicaid autism spectrum disorder (ASD) waiver. The waiver provides services to eligible children and supports parents in their efforts to maximize their child’s development, while also preventing out-of-home placements.  

North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) Children and Family Services initiated an adoption streamlining effort this month to ensure a more timely and safe adoption process for children in foster care who have a permanency goal that includes adoption.

There has been one confirmed case of Hepatitis A in a food worker, possibly exposed following out-of-state travel. No additional cases have been identified at this time.  North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) has determined that people who ate at the University of North Dakota (UND) Memorial Union Chick-fil-A, 3625 Campus Rd., Grand Forks, ND, on the following dates and times, may have been exposed to Hepatitis A, which is a contagious liver infection.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in four babies born with a heart defect has a critical congenital heart defect. Critical congenital heart disease is a group of serious heart conditions present at birth. These conditions may affect the heart’s shape, how it works or both. Birthing facilities in North Dakota are required to screen babies for critical congenital heart disease when they are born. North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) supports these screening efforts to ensure all babies are screened for certain rare, but serious health conditions at birth. 

February is American Heart Month, a month to raise awareness about heart disease and prevention. North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) wants North Dakotans to know their risk factors, especially their blood pressure numbers and actions they can take to support their heart health.

In commemoration of National Energy Assistance Day Feb.1, North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) is encouraging North Dakotans who are struggling to pay for heating costs to explore options for assistance and services through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) is incentivizing new health care graduates and established health professionals to choose North Dakota as their career location through the department’s latest health care recruitment initiative, Love You to Stay.

Love You to Stay aims to address health care needs in underserved and rural areas by providing avenues of support with partnering agencies that connect health care professionals to promising career opportunities in North Dakota.

This January, during Cervical Cancer Prevention Month, North Dakota’s breast and cervical cancer early detection program, known as Women's Way, encourages women to stay on track with important preventive health screenings – including cervical cancer screenings. Women’s Way is administered through North Dakota Health and Human Services and local health partners.

North Dakotans who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and lost food due to the recent power outages may qualify for SNAP replacement benefits, but they should act quickly.