Shirts stripped off, drugs, sharp implements and blood spilled -- and that was just among Gov. Beverly Perdue and her cabinet. All of this was in the name of flu prevention.

Perdue, seven of her cabinet secretaries and state schools Superintendent June Atkinson received their seasonal flu vaccinations in front of a news conference this afternoon to promote the annual shots.

Perdue emphasized flu prevention steps: frequent hand washing, coughing into sleeves and staying home when sick. She also explained that North Carolina's allotment of about 1 million vaccinations for the H1N1 flu virus are expected to be available around mid-October.

Before getting her seasonal flu shot, Perdue suggested the capital press corps be vaccinated with her administering the shots. As she and her cabinet began to get stuck, the press conference turned into something of a political celebrity burlesque show, with Transportation Secretary Gene Conti and Revenue Secretary Ken Lay taking off their shirts for their turn at the needle.

"Gene's over there undressing!" Perdue laughed. No washboard abs, though. Conti and Lay both had on undershirts.

After working for nearly a decade to close Dorothea Dix Hospital, state mental health administrators now intend to keep a sizable number of staff and patients at the aging Raleigh facility for years.

Lanier Cansler, secretary for the state Department of Health and Human Services, said this week that he plans to move about half of Dix's more than 200 patients to Central Regional Hospital in Butner when it opens fully in October.

But he said Dix will remain open as a stand-alone psychiatric hospital, with its own director and administrative staff. It will no longer serve as a satellite campus for the new Butner facility.

State legislators affirmed that decision earlier this month when they approved a state budget that restored $6 million in funding for operations at Dix for the next year. That move came as legislators made $155 million in spending cuts for other mental health programs in the 2010 budget.

The move to continue operating Dix as a state mental hospital will hamper efforts to turn the more than 300 acres between downtown Raleigh and N.C. State University into a major park operated by the City of Raleigh or a nonprofit foundation.

It also offers evidence that the sweeping 2001 mental health reform plan has failed. A centerpiece of that effort, which was passed by the legislature and carried out by the administration of former Gov. Mike Easley, was a plan to reduce the need for beds at mental hospitals. Instead, there would be more private, community-based treatment. (N&O)

Lanier Cansler, head of the state Department of Health and Human Services, paid a visit to Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro this week to help boost the morale of the staff there.

The Goldsboro News-Argus reports that Cansler visited the troubled state psychiatric hospital on Wednesday, and told the staff that he wanted to raise morale and "recognize the positive efforts" going on there.

Patsy Christian has a new job.

Christian was forced to step down as director of a state mental hospital in June 2008 after reports that she spent government money intended to help patients to commission an oil painting of herself.

But she landed softly. Dempsey Benton, then secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services created a new job especially for Christian, where she was tasked with improving "overall quality management in the area of nurse training across the system and compliance with regulatory requirements," according to a department spokesman.

The job paid $114,056, a cut of just 5 percent from the $119,759 she was paid as hospital director.

Now Christian has been assigned as a "special executive" at the Division of Health Service Regulation, the state agency that oversees health care facilities and investigates complaints of patient abuse and neglect.

Renee McCoy, spokeswoman for DHHS, said Christian's new responsibilities include developing disaster readiness plans for state mental hospitals.

She is paid $117,193 a year, according to state records.

The state must repay about $300 million to the federal government for overbilling Medicaid.

Starting last November, public hospital Medicaid payments were improperly  billed to the federal government rather than to a state account, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services, Lynn Bonner reports.

The state has agreed to repay $200 million by the end of the month, and the rest by the end of the year.

"This mistake should not have been made," DHHS secretary Lanier Cansler said in a statement. "Originating almost eight months ago, it should have been identified and reported earlier. I have discussed the matter with the Governor, and I am aggressively working to strengthen the internal controls and will take whatever other remedial actions may be necessary."

Department of Health and Human Services secretary Lanier Cansler talked back in February about hiring an assistant secretary who would concentrate on expanding community mental health services.

The person would work with private providers, local mental health offices, advocacy groups and others on getting services where they're needed, Lynn Bonner reports.

Cansler hasn't filled that job yet. It's not the hiring freeze that's put the move on hold, Cansler said, but a time crunch that has him focused on big, immediate issues like the budget.

Cansler said he has been talking to potential hires about the position.

"I hope in the coming weeks we will name someone," he said.

Lanier Cansler, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, told employees in an e-mail Monday that the budget cuts considered in the state House are "historic in nature and unprecedented in amount."

Cansler wrote of his hope that the legislature would consider increased taxes on alcohol and tobacco to bring in more money, but told workers to prepare for budget reductions, Lynn Bonner reports.

All offices and divisions will have to reevaluate their priorities and figure out how to do things differently, Cansler wrote. He asked those with ideas on how to do things better to talk to their supervisors.

"Working together, we can meet this challenge and emerge from these difficult financial times a stronger and better focused Department for serving our State’s citizens. I look forward to working with you as we strive to meet the needs and expectation of those we serve."

Gov. Beverly Perdue will sign the smoking ban Tuesday morning.

The governor will be joined by secretary of Health and Human Services Lanier Cansler, House Democratic Leader Hugh Holliman, Sen. Bill Purcell and other state legislators and officials for the signing.

The 11:30 a.m. ceremony will take place at the Old House Chamber in the state capitol. 

North Carolina hopes to recoup $8 million.

Administrative law judge Keith W. Sickendick said Tuesday that Broughton Hospital did not deserve to lose federal insurance money.

The state psychiatric hospital lost the money after investigators in August of 2007 determined that conditions endangered patients. 

The judge said that the hospital's policies were consistent with state law, however. 

"It's a good day," said Lanier Cansler, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services. "The judge has vindicated the hospital, we believe, and we will be applying to get back about $8 million. We are hopeful we'll be able to retrieve that money."

The money would help slightly with the state's budget shortfall. (N&O)