“Our mission is to build healthier communities by offering innovative solutions that establish partnerships and leverage resources throughout South Carolina.
Under the new leadership of David Sudduth, executive director of HMHSC and program manager Kapri Kreps Rhodes, the program will now be extending its services by offering support for communities in need of COVID-19 testing.
In addition, access to MUSC’s robust telehealth network and coordination with Clemson University Cooperative Extension locations at each HMHSC site enable the expertise of health care specialists to reach residents in rural and underserved parts of South Carolina. The program extends traditional clinic services by deploying a mobile health van at HMHSC sites, which increases the reach and impact of each location. Over the past two years, these initiatives were targeted in rural Anderson, Barnwell and Williamsburg counties, the program’s pilot counties. Since the inception of the program, HMHSC has focused on areas of need, including infant mortality, childhood obesity, cancer prevention and pain management. The program leverages MUSC and Clemson’s statewide reach and collective expertise in education, health and community outreach to expand health care options to underserved regions of the state. Henry McMaster and benefits from resources designated explicitly for health innovations. HMHSC is made possible by funds from the South Carolina General Assembly and the support of Gov. Michelle Parisi, director of Nutrition and Health Extension Programs and assistant professor in the Department of Food, Nutrition and Packaging Sciences at Clemson said, “Clemson Cooperative Extension is happy to be a part of the HMHSC holistic approach to health and well-being for South Carolina citizens. With educational programs established in every county of the state, the Health Extension has been a trusted source of scientific information for rural and underserved communities for over 100 years. These longstanding relationships assist HMHSC in bridging the gap between health resources and underserved communities in our state.”Īfter more than a year of successful pilot programs, HMHSC was founded in 2019 by MUSC and Clemson University as a collaborative, statewide program to improve health care access and address health inequities.
Now, it is sharing a version of that model with partners to expand testing to more communities. MUSC Health was first in the nation to launch a combined virtual urgent care platform and drive-through specimen collection site. The mobile setup allows care providers to rotate sites, reaching underserved and rural populations experiencing barriers to health care access for COVID-19 screening and testing. Sullivan Center (JFSC) will operate the testing team, which will serve as an independent screening unit in support of Clemson’s contribution to the MUSC mission. The Cooperative Extension Services will continue to coordinate screening sites and market and promote screening clinics. Clemson University has combined resources and experts into a multi-disciplinary team charged with working in partnership with MUSC to implement the HMHSC COVID-19 testing initiative for the state.
#Healthy me program free
The test is free to the community.įaculty members from multiple departments at Clemson and MUSC are engaged in these statewide efforts. Insurance is not required to be seen however, the CARES Act does require MUSC to bill insurance providers if patients do have insurance. Members of the community are asked to bring photo identification and an insurance card if they have one. Testing sites will be set up at various locations to collect COVID-19 respiratory specimens from both walk-up and drive-through patients. Mobile testing sites through HMHSC kicked off in Walhalla, South Carolina, on Thursday, July 30, with the goal of providing weekly screening sessions over the course of the next six months. With the reinvigoration of the program and a focus on the state’s current public health crisis, HMHSC will deploy a mobile testing team to conduct screenings and collections in rural and underserved areas, focusing on the Upstate and the Midlands. Charleston and Clemson, S.C. – Healthy Me – Healthy SC (HMHSC), a program developed in partnership by the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and Clemson University, will provide COVID-19 testing support to the rural and underserved areas of the Midlands and Upstate regions of South Carolina.Īcross the state, rural and underserved communities experience disparities in access to COVID-19 screening, testing, prevention and treatment.