Certificate of Need (CON) reform may have been pulled from a tentative budget agreement between the House and Senate chambers, but Mayor Adam O’Neal of Belhaven is relentless on keeping the debate alive. After leading a 130-mile walk from Beaufort County to Raleigh, O’Neal and rural health care supporters held a rally outside of the General Assembly and addressed how the restrictive CON process is denying his town from reopening a hospital. Belhaven is in serious need of an emergency department, as the nearest one is 35 miles away.

Get the full story here.