N. Carolina relocates mentally ill kids

BUTNER, N.C., April 9 (UPI) -- The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services says it is relocating mentally ill children from a dilapidated facility in Butner, N.C.

The state agency said instead of housing the ailing children at the former John Umstead hospital in Butner, child patients will be treated at Central Regional Hospital or the Dorothea Dix hospital campus in Raleigh, the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer said Thursday.

Central Regional will offer services to those children only needing short medical stays, while Dix will serve those kids in need of longer stays.

The News & Observer said the change in services comes after it reported in February that the John Umstead hospital's children's wards were typically cold during the winter and were routinely visited by ants and cockroaches.

Lanier Cansler, health and human services secretary, told the News & Observer the children at the Umstead site were moved after a staffing and hospital review.

"This provides the opportunity to maintain the quality of care we need for patients," Cansler said.