Caldwell County health staff outline women’s services and warn of rising congenital syphilis

Bree Flanagan, a public health educator with the Caldwell County Health Department, and county maternal-health staff summarized the department’s women’s health services and urged early prenatal care after reporting an increase in congenital syphilis in North Carolina.

The county’s maternity clinic, staff said, provides pregnancy testing, initial and anatomy ultrasounds, standard ACOG-recommended prenatal testing and ongoing monitoring through roughly 28–30 weeks, and refers patients for delivery to hospitals in Burke or Catawba counties. “They don't give birth in Caldwell County anymore. So we keep them from 28 to 30 weeks,” April, a maternal health nurse, said.

Why it matters: staff warned that congenital syphilis has increased and can cause blindness, deafness, bone and dental deformities or death if untreated. County presenters said North Carolina’s reported syphilis numbers are the highest in nearly 20 years and cited a 24% rise from 2023 to 2024; staff also stated they believe six infants died from syphilis in 2024. Maternal-health staff emphasized routine prenatal testing and treatment as prevention and urged early contact with the clinic.

Services and access The department described a range of programs for women of all ages: a family-planning program offering contraception and cervical-cancer screening, a breast-and-cervical cancer control program for older women, a maternity clinic for pregnant clients, adult primary/sick visits, and STD testing and treatment. Emily, a social worker in the maternity department, said the clinic follows ACOG-recommended screening (blood typing and antibody tests, hepatitis B/C, chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, syphilis, gestational diabetes screening and genetic testing options) and monitors weight, blood pressure and urine for signs of complications.

Appointments are available Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; staff said callers should reach the maternity clinic at 828-426-8488 to speak with Isabel or on-duty staff. The clinic accepts insured, Medicaid, underinsured and uninsured clients and offers a sliding-fee scale based on income. For patients without local delivery options, staff will transfer medical records and help arrange referrals to hospitals in other counties.

Benefits, supports and referrals County staff described how they help patients with presumptive Medicaid (a two-month preliminary Medicaid determination) and with WIC appointments; they said staff will complete paperwork using county DSS income guidelines and forward documents to the appropriate county social services office when patients live out of county.

For people with substance-use or mental-health needs, staff outlined partnerships with local providers, including ReStart and county mental-health partners (cited as RHA and Jonas Hill), and noted that peer-support specialists are available through ReStart. The department described a local high-risk pregnancy care-management program (referred to in the discussion as SIM HARP and C MARK) staffed by two social workers and a nurse who help coordinate specialty appointments, substance-use and mental-health supports, and social services such as housing applications, car seats and diaper assistance.

Community partners named by staff include Oak Hill, Catholic Charities, United Way and Caldwell Pregnancy Care Centers; staff said many community partners accept Medicaid. The department also mentioned a Safe Kids program to help eligible families obtain car seats and other safety equipment.

Officials’ next steps and contact information Staff urged early enrollment in prenatal care and repeated the clinic contact number for appointments and assistance: 828-426-8488. They emphasized that, despite the lack of a local delivery hospital, Caldwell County continues to provide prenatal care and support services and will coordinate referrals for delivery elsewhere.

The session closed after staff answered final logistical questions and reiterated how residents can access services.