The New Hanover County Health and Human Services building.
In the Cape Fear region, spending for public health has been dropping for close to a decade. Some of the reasons that account for this are the decrease in program offerings and the rise of private and non-profit health services, but some officials would like to see funding boosted.
Expenditures have gone down. Why?
Public health departments provide services like inspections of schools and restaurants, communicable disease prevention, and maternal health.
But over the past decade, county health departments across the state have decreased their spending. It’s a trend consistent with about