DOVER (March 1, 2019) — Although the overall number of laboratory-confirmed flu cases in Delaware this flu season remains lower than the total number of cases reported at the same time last year, the number of flu-related deaths has continued to increase during the 2018-2019 flu season. As of February 16, 2019, the most recent […]

NEW CASTLE (7 de marzo de 2019) – El Departamento de Salud y Servicios Sociales (DHSS, por sus siglas en inglés) insta a las personas y a las familias trabajadoras de Delaware a reunirse con preparadores voluntarios de impuestos en diferentes lugares en todo el estado para determinar si cumplen con los requisitos para el […]

NEW CASTLE (March 13, 2019) – To reduce hardships on families and individuals in Delaware and to help households budget their monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, the Department of Health and Social Services is announcing that it will issue all April food benefits on April 13 rather than staggering them across a three-week […]

NEW CASTLE (March 13, 2019) – Health and public safety officials are urging people in active use of heroin or other opioids and their families to seek immediate treatment and acquire the overdose-reversing medication naloxone on hand in the wake of three suspected heroin overdose deaths in five days in Sussex County involving the same […]

The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is engaging dental providers in the launch of a statewide campaign directed at increasing awareness about the addictive nature of opioid medications used after dental procedures.

Recommendations focus on systemic changes and expanding treatment options   New Castle, Del. – On Thursday, Lt. Governor Hall-Long joined members of Delaware’s Behavioral Health Consortium, community advocates, and elected officials to accept recommendations from The Pew Charitable Trusts aimed at reforming Delaware’s addiction treatment system. Pew Charitable Trusts has been working in partnership with […]

April Designated as Lung Cancer Screening Awareness Month DOVER – Dramatic “before-and-after-smoking” inflatable lungs shared center stage with Governor John Carney as he urged Delawareans at high risk of lung cancer to get life-saving screenings. Governor Carney proclaimed April as Lung Cancer Screening Awareness Month in Delaware at the Delaware Cancer Consortium’s (DCC) annual retreat […]

NEW CASTLE (April 25, 2019) – The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) today announced that Delaware is one of five states selected to partner with the national nonprofit Shatterproof in the development of a new pilot rating system designed to measure quality in addiction treatment programs. Delaware was selected due to the […]

Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long and the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services’ Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities (DSAAPD) are hosting an event on Tuesday, April 30, in Dover to show what Dementia Friendly Delaware can offer for Delawareans living with dementia and their families. Dementia Friendly Delaware (DFD) is […]

First Lady also announces first Compassionate Champion Award winners   DOVER, Del. – At a kickoff event for Trauma Awareness Month in Delaware, First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney today announced the launch of a new, growing statewide partnership for trauma-informed care to help elevate stories of the work of leaders in trauma-informed practices and approaches across the state called Trauma Informed Delaware. The […]

NEW CASTLE (May 15, 2019) – During Supervised Visitation Awareness Month, the Department of Health and Social Services’ Office of Community Services is conducting a toy drive to provide new toys, books and games for use at Delaware’s six Family Visitation Centers (FVCs). Through June 10, drop-off bins will be located at all State Service […]

The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) and Partnership for Drug-Free Kids are collaborating to bring dedicated, science-based resources and support to Delaware families. The two entities will work together to provide innovative, digital resources and one-on-one support to parents and caregivers as they help a loved one struggling with opioids or other […]

NEW CASTLE (June 12, 2019) – The Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDDS) will host two sessions later this month for families interested in applying for the Lifespan Waiver, which is designed to enable individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorder or Prader-Willi Syndrome who have left school to live safely in the community. The […]

The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is reminding Delawareans to avoid consuming raw dairy products as it announces a confirmed case of brucellosis caused by Brucella melitensis in a 46-year-old Sussex County woman.

NEW CASTLE (June 26, 2019) – Governor John Carney has signed into law House Bill 81, which mandates that employers with 50 or more employees remit child support payments to the Department of Health and Social Services’ Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) by electronic funds transfer (EFT) or electronic data interchange (EDI). The law […]

DOVER – Cancer screening and early detection efforts continue to drive down Delaware’s cancer death rates, say state public health officials. In particular, officials are seeing dramatic improvements in the all-site mortality rate among non-Hispanic African-American men, which decreased by 30 percent between the five-year periods of 2001-2005 and 2011-2015, according to the latest cancer […]

NEW CASTLE (July 11, 2019) – As a new support for individuals and families impacted by the effects of mental health and substance use issues, the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH) officially will open the Sussex County Bridge Clinic on July 15 at the Promise Access Center in Georgetown, providing screening and […]

DOVER (Aug. 1, 2019) – On July 30, 2019, the medical license and controlled substance registration of Damon Cary, MD, were suspended temporarily by the Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline. The suspension was the result of a request made by the Delaware Attorney General’s Office following investigations into the prescribing and treatment practices […]

DHSS Secretary Dr. Kara Odom Walker says, “In the midst of the opioid crisis we are facing in Delaware and across the country, (these facilities) are another resource we can use to better serve our Medicaid clients in need of treatment for substance use disorder.” NEW CASTLE (Aug. 5, 2019) – The Department of Health […]

With back-to-school shopping already well under way for Delaware families, the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) asks you to considering helping students in need get off to a good start this school year by participating in the annual Adopt-A-Student program.

On June 20, Gov. John Carney signed enabling legislation (House Bill 193) moving Delaware a step closer to a reinsurance program beginning in 2020. NEW CASTLE (Aug. 20, 2019) – The Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) received approval today from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for a 1332 State Innovation […]

NEW CASTLE (Aug. 21, 2019) – The Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill (DHCI) is seeking community volunteers to assist residents during its upcoming Family & Friends Day event at the facility’s grounds in Smyrna. Volunteers are needed to help make sure all of the residents are able to enjoy the day’s activities. Groups and […]

DOVER – Bayhealth and Beebe Medical Centers have each received $750,000 in federal grant funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to develop rural residency programs. HRSA awarded approximately $20 million in Rural Residency Planning and Development Program (RRPD) grants to recipients across […]

NEW CASTLE (Sept. 3, 2019) – Health and public safety officials are urging people in active use of heroin or other opioids and their families to seek immediate treatment and to acquire the overdose-reversing medication naloxone in the wake of six suspected overdose deaths, including four in Sussex County, during the holiday weekend. The six […]

The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is advising Delaware residents that it is participating in a multi-state investigation into an outbreak of severe pulmonary disease reported across the country. As of today, 33 states, including Delaware, have reported possible cases of lung illnesses associated with use of e-cigarette products (e.g., devices, liquids, refill pods, and cartridges). While there are no confirmed cases in Delaware at this time, DPH is currently investigating three possible cases among Delaware residents.

NEW CASTLE (Sept. 23, 2019) – Delaware Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) offices in all three counties will be closed Friday, Sept. 27, due to an in-service staff meeting. Child support customers who have in-person business are encouraged to come earlier in the week. Account information can be accessed 24/7 by calling the Automated […]

The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) continues to participate in a multi-state investigation into an outbreak of severe pulmonary disease reported across the country. As of today, 38 states, including Delaware, have reported cases of lung injury associated with use of e-cigarette products (e.g., devices, liquids, refill pods, and cartridges).

NEW CASTLE (Sept. 25, 2019) – Department of Health and Social Services employees joined together with the Food Bank of Delaware, legislators and other volunteers to distribute 30,000 pounds of non-perishable food, fresh produce and dairy products to Delawareans in need during a drive-through event today at DHSS’ Herman Holloway Campus near New Castle. The […]

NEW CASTLE (Sept. 26, 2019) – The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently awarded the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services a $3.58 million planning grant to increase the treatment capacity of Medicaid providers to deliver substance use disorder treatment and recovery services to Delawareans in need. Delaware was one of 15 […]

Currently in Delaware, there are 11 cases of vaping-related lung injury that meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) case definition as either probable or confirmed. Additionally, DPH announced today that one of the cases associated with this outbreak involves an individual who died.

DOVER – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing the state’s first laboratory-confirmed case of influenza for the 2019-2020 flu season. The case, which also marks Delaware’s first pediatric case of the season, involves an 8-year-old from New Castle County. “The flu is here,” said DPH Director Dr. Karyl Rattay. “Now that we […]

NEW CASTLE (October 9, 2019) – The Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) is seeking applications from Delaware health care providers for one-time, health information exchange (HIE) support mini-grants to adopt the full range of health information exchange tools offered by the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN). DHIN is Delaware’s Health Information Exchange (HIE) […]

The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is reporting the state’s first laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza in Kent and Sussex counties, for the 2019-2020 flu season. The Kent County case involves a 26-year-old female, while the Sussex County case involves a 7-year-old male. This brings the total number of flu cases this season to three. The first confirmed flu case for New Castle County was announced last week.

NEW CASTLE (Oct. 14, 2019) – Nearly two dozen students with disabilities, including clients of the Department of Health and Social Services’ Division of Developmental Disabilities Services and the Division for the Visually Impaired, will participate in career-building experiences during the University of Delaware’s Disability Mentoring Day on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at various locations in […]

Sat., Oct. 26, 2019: Delaware residents can safely dispose of their unused or expired prescription medications at designated sites throughout the state as part of the 18th National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

NEW CASTLE (Oct. 23, 2019) – “Remembering Farnhurst: Stories from the Delaware State Hospital, 1894-1920,” a new book by local anthropologist Katherine A. Dettwyler, details the early history of the Delaware State Hospital, now known as the Delaware Psychiatric Center. Dettwyler spent four years transcribing seven State Hospital ledgers that detailed the admission and clinical […]

With the state’s new reinsurance program in place and premiums declining, Delawareans are urged to take another look at marketplace plans during open enrollment for 2020 coverage.

As a significant step toward environmental remediation of hazardous substances found within the Town of Blades in Sussex County, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed the Blades Groundwater Site to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL), Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Shawn M. Garvin announced today.

Governor John Carney and Lieutenant Governor Bethany Hall-Long have proclaimed November 3-9, 2019, as Radiation Protection Week in Delaware.

DHSS Secretary Dr. Kara Odom Walker visits residents at Governor Bacon Health Center. NEW CASTLE (Nov. 12, 2019) – The Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill (DHCI) in Smyrna and the Governor Bacon Health Center (GBHC) in Delaware City are asking members of the community to sponsor a resident for the holidays at either nursing […]

The Division of Public Health announced updates to its My Healthy Community data portal. DPH launched My Healthy Community earlier this year to allow Delawareans to access information about the overall health of their communities.

The Department of Health and Social Services’ Adopt-A-Family Holiday program is seeking donors to help make this holiday season a happier one for thousands of children, adults, people with disabilities and seniors in need across Delaware.

WILMINGTON (Nov. 21, 2019) – The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and Google have launched a first-in-the-nation partnership to bring needed resources to Delaware families looking for help online for a loved one struggling with substance use disorder. DHSS will work with Partnership and Google to identify communication […]

NEW CASTLE (Dec. 3, 2019) – After months of inventory analysis, stakeholder and employee online surveys and internal and external focus group interviews, the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) is seeking public input on draft goals and objectives as part of its ongoing strategic planning initiative. The Department has posted the foundation of […]

To reduce disparate birth outcomes and save the lives of both infants and their mothers, the Division of Public Health (DPH) and the Delaware Healthy Mother and Infant Consortium (DHMIC) awarded mini-grants to six community organizations. The local grant recipients were announced Dec. 10, during the DHMIC’s quarterly meeting in Dover.

La División de Salud Pública de Delaware (DPH por sus siglas en inglés) anunció hoy que hay 26 casos confirmados de Salmonella en niños y niñas de edad escolar en el condado de New Castle. Estos casos forman parte de un brote multiestatal de Salmonella Javiana vinculado a frutas cortadas que fueron retiradas del mercado.

Governor John Carney said, “Since the ACA was implemented, we have nearly cut the uninsured population in half in our state. That is another important step in moving us to a stronger and healthier Delaware.”

Nominate a young person making a difference through volunteerism in Delaware.

DOVER – The Division of Public Health (DPH) is reminding Delawareans to protect themselves and those around them this influenza season by getting vaccinated as DPH announces the first two flu-related deaths of the 2019-2020 flu season. A 68-year-old woman infected with influenza A, and a 65-year-old man infected with influenza B, passed away this […]

DOVER – As the number of confirmed influenza cases in Delaware continues to rise, the Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing two recent flu-related deaths, bringing the total number of deaths for the 2019-2020 season thus far to four. The most recent victim is a 29-year-old New Castle County man diagnosed with influenza B […]