When May came to a close, Broughton Hospital marked two decades of the continuous operation of the Deaf Services Program, which expanded mental health access for Deaf patients across the state with a community already rooted in Burke County.

Just after 7:50 a.m., the officers grouped up in the street and began the run to Patton High School, carrying a lit torch to commence the Special Olympics events for the day.

Psychiatric hospitals across the state are struggling to fill job vacancies, creating bottlenecks in Burke County emergency rooms and forcing potential patients to spend weeks, sometimes months, waiting for transfers.

Psychiatric hospitals across the state are struggling to fill job vacancies, creating bottlenecks in Burke County emergency rooms and forcing potential patients to spend weeks, sometimes months, waiting for transfers.