One Step Forward for South Carolina’s Uninsured

Posted by admin on June 15, 2009 under News | Be the First to Comment

AccessHealth SC Selects Lakelands as One of Three Communities to Receive Assistance in Developing a Care Network for the Uninsured

COLUMBIA, S.C., June 15, 2009 — The seven-county Lakelands region’s adult uninsured citizens are one step closer to having an option other than local emergency rooms for much needed preventive and acute healthcare services.
AccessHealth SC, a program that seeks to improve access to healthcare services for South Carolina’s low-income uninsured population, has announced the selection of three communities that will receive technical assistance and support to establish local, coordinated networks of care for the low-income uninsured. The winning communities are: the Lakelands Region, Kershaw County and Spartanburg County.
Fifteen communities from across the state applied for the AccessHealth SC program. To be selected, the applicants underwent a stringent review process with four requirements. First, they must have the commitment of specific healthcare providers required for a community network: hospital(s), Free Medical Clinics, Community Health Centers/Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Clinics, local health department, local behavioral health agency, physicians, and medication provider(s). Applicants also had to demonstrate they have strong leadership, trust between community partners and the time and ability to focus on developing a local network of care.
The winning Lakelands partnership is led by the Lakelands Rural Health Network and includes hospitals Abbeville Area Medical Center, Edgefield County Hospital, Laurens County Healthcare System and Self Regional Healthcare; Carolina Healthcare Centers, DHEC Region I, The Self Family Foundation, Montgomery Center for Family Medicine, rural health clinics Due West Family Medicine, Laurens Family Practice, Piedmont Pediatrics and W. High Morgan, MD; Beckman Center for Mental Health Services; medication providers Welvista and Carolina Community Pharmacy; and 11 private physician practices and a rehabilitation center.
Commenting on the selection, Dawn Wichmann, executive director, Lakelands Rural Health Network, said “We are very pleased to have been selected by AccessHealth SC to begin the process of developing a community care network that will be better able to help fellow citizens who have no health insurance and limited income. As healthcare providers, we are committed to meeting the needs of everyone in our community. However, limited resources can make this a challenge. Working with AccessHealth SC, we plan to develop a system that can provide the continuum of healthcare services people need regardless of job status or income level, from preventive care to managing chronic diseases like diabetes to acute care to medications, in a coordinated, efficient manner. Our goal is to make it easier for people who need help to get help.”
The Lakelands AccessHealth SC partnership will now begin Phase 1 System Orientation, a 12-month process that includes the development of a strategic plan. The planning process is critical to establishing an effective network as it will assess the number of uninsured adults, the diseases most prevalent in the community, barriers to care, and processes to overcome these barriers. On the successful completion of Phase 1, the Lakelands Rural Health Network will implement the strategic plan.
AccessHealth SC will be accepting applications from communities for the next round of support. The application will be available on or before August 1 at www.accesshealthsc.net.
About AccessHealth SC Administered by the South Carolina Hospital Association with financial support from The Duke Endowment, AccessHealth SC works to create and sustain coordinated, data-driven community-based networks of care that provide medical homes and ensure timely, affordable, high quality healthcare services for low-income uninsured people in South Carolina. For information, visit www.accesshealthsc.net.