Grace Hayba

Raleigh

Health Reporter at WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)

You can take my blue check but you can’t take my Emmy🏆| Known to shout“WE ARE!” 💙🤍 | DMV native | Have a story idea? Email me: [email protected]

Articles

NC mom joins groundbreaking cancer study to protect her daughters

5 days ago | wral.com | Grace Hayba

This Mother’s Day, Samantha McCoy isn’t just asking for flowers. She’s asking for progress. The Johnston County mom is one of the North Carolinians enrolled in the groundbreaking VOICES of Black Women Study. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of anything that’s going to help, especially my children,” McCoy said. “I have daughters.
Wet, muggy weather increases mosquito-borne illnesses threat

1 week ago | wral.com | Grace Hayba

Mosquitoes in North Carolina are out in full force, and health officials warn they aren’t going away unless you take action. “The biggest thing is any type of mosquito control starts with the homeowner or resident,” said Hunter Gregg with the Wake County Health Department. Gregg, an environmental health manager with the county’s Onsite Water Protection Division, explained that Wake County doesn’t run a countywide spray program.
NC hospitals in state of standby, preparing as measles threat grows

1 week ago | wral.com | Grace Hayba

As measles cases rise nationwide, local hospitals are on high alert for possible cases. Health officials statewide and at local levels warn communities with low vaccination rates are most at-risk for a measles outbreak. Measles is a highly contagious virus that can cause severe complications, especially for children younger than five years old.
Cost of Alzheimer’s hits home as North Carolinians push for early detection

2 weeks ago | wral.com | Grace Hayba

More Americans than ever are living with Alzheimer’s, according to new data. The 2025 Alzheimer’s Association Facts and Figures Report estimates a record 7.2 million Americans ages 65 and older have the disease. Alzheimer’s Association Eastern North Carolina Executive Director Christine John-Fuller shared that the increase is multi-factorial. “You have a baby boomer population that is aging into that 65-plus category,” she explained.
Cost vs. Care: NC Bill renews debate over certificate of need laws

2 weeks ago | wral.com | Grace Hayba

A political fight that’s been brewing at the state legislature for years could come to a head this summer, as some lawmakers and advocates look to reverse a decision made nearly 50 years ago and change the health care landscape in North Carolina. Health facilities in North Carolina have been required to abide by Certificate of Need (CON) laws since 1978.
Win a $250,000 mobile clinic: Mission Mobile Medical opens applications for rural healthcare

2 weeks ago | wral.com | Grace Hayba

Mission Mobile Medical is looking to reduce barriers to care in rural areas by bringing care straight to communities in need. The organization has opened applications for its mobile clinic giveaway. The clinic on wheels is worth $250,000. It contains everything needed for medical consults, including two exam rooms, lab area, a nursing station and medical storage spaces.
Federal funding cuts threaten NC’s public health crisis response, director says

3 weeks ago | wral.com | Grace Hayba

The North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health director said federal funding cuts ordered by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE] are a danger to the state’s ability to respond to public health crisis. Scott Shone explained the impacts of the cuts to the state laboratory, which tests for some of the most serious illnesses impacting North Carolinians, including syphilis, measles, whooping cough and E. coli.
Chapel Hill family seeks liver donor for 5-year-old daughter's rare condition

3 weeks ago | wral.com | Grace Hayba

Racing to play catch in the neighborhood park is a normal thing for most kids. For 5-year-old Hollis Linn of Chapel Hill, it’s the extent of outdoor play she’s usually able to have. Hollis is battling a liver condition that is so rare it doesn’t have a commonly used medical name. “We never got a name for what she actually has,” mother Lindsey Linn explained.
Weight loss drug coverage could return for some state workers under proposed NC budget

4 weeks ago | wral.com | Grace Hayba

Millions of dollars in a new$32.6 billion state budget proposal could allow for the return of GLP-1coverage for some state employees. The state Senate proposed $25 million to be put toward providingcoverage of GLP-1 medications for state employees with the state health plan.
Local man defies cancer odds, advocates for crucial research funding amid NIH cuts

1 month ago | wral.com | Grace Hayba

Four years after being given just two years to live, Lenny Santoro is still here. Multiple days a week you’ll find him at the Duke Health & Fitness Center in Durham. He rotates from machine to machine, doing a variety of exercises to keep up his strength after undergoing chemotherapy for prostate cancer. “I am in remission,” said Santoro. “I think it has everything to do with the trial involved with exercise.