2019 HIGHLIGHTS

2019
Highlights

The Board of Directors and staff of the South Carolina Office of Rural Health are pleased to
share a selection of highlights from 2019. These accomplishments showcase just a portion of our
impact across the Palmetto State. With the support of our partners, we advanced our values of
Investment, Opportunity and Health in the rural communities of South Carolina.

Good News for South Carolina’s Rural Health Providers:

• SCORH provided 1,200 instances of technical assistance, including 560 face-to-face encounters, in more than 600 communities.

• We are embarking upon a statewide Community Paramedicine analysis with funding from The Duke Endowment.

• We are conducting an 18-month study of rural hospital workforce needs and trends with funding from the SC Center for Rural and Primary
Healthcare at the University of South Carolina.

• We were one of only 12 recipients nationally of a three-year EMS supplement grant from the federal Office of Rural Health Policy to explore
the community paramedicine, treat/no transport and alternative destination models of care.

• With various funding from the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC), we
• addressed immunization rates in rural practices
• refined contracts for chronic disease management in rural practices
• expanded practice transformation work related to the Best Chance Network programs for underserved women
• worked on cancer survivorship programs

• We partnered with the SC Department of Health and Human Services (SC DHHS) to:
• create an Advanced Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) program for rural practices to further develop their quality
improvement efforts
• solve the wrap payment/payment-delay problem for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)

• We worked with the SC Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare to:
• award mini-grants to eligible rural practices
• develop evidence-based strategies for RHCs
• implement the National Cancer Institute project

• We received a subaward from the Medical University of South Carolina to assist on the SC Rural Interprofessional Practice Transformation
project.

• SCORH became the only State Office of Rural Health in the nation designated as the state leader for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS) Small Underserved and Rural Support (SURS) program. This program supports practices with 15 or fewer clinicians that are
seeking assistance with the CMS Quality Payment Program.

• We received a grant from the New Morning Foundation to assess the need for contraceptive care services in RHCs through its Choose Well
initiative. We were asked to be the administrator for all RHCs enrolling into the Choose Well initiative.
 2019
Highlights

Good News for South Carolina’s Rural Communities:

• This year, SCORH launched RuralForwardSC to put the SC Rural Health Action Plan into motion. RuralForwardSC is the programmatic
home for statewide collaborations related to the social determinants of health.

• In partnership with the SC Hospital Association and Palmetto Care Connections, SCORH commissioned the statewide mapping of
broadband connectivity by county.

• We created a partnership with the SC Community Loan Fund to jointly fund rural infrastructure projects.

• SCORH was one of only three State Offices of Rural Health to secure a three-year implementation grant from the federal Office of Rural
Health Policy to address opioid misuse in rural areas of our state.

• We created a pilot program with the UofSC College of Social Work, funded by the BlueCross BlueShield of SC Foundation, to place MSW
students into rural library settings, where they provide social work services to the community.

• We worked with the SC Hospital Association and The Duke Endowment to implement Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas, a program that
supports local communities’ health improvement activities.

• We embarked on Phase 3 of the Blueprint for Health program, funded by the BlueCross BlueShield of SC Foundation to support rural
counties in addressing the root causes of poor health in their communities. Cherokee, Darlington and Williamsburg counties will begin
their projects in 2020, joining Bamberg, Marion, Laurens and Union counties with projects in progress. Barnwell, Lancaster, Lee, Oconee
and Dillon counties were the first cohort and have completed all phases of the program.
 2019
Highlights

2019 Gatherings:
• SCORH Staff Retreat held February 26 in Lexington.
• 23rd Annual Rural Health Conference held September 30-October 2 in Charleston.
• 9th Annual National Rural Health Day Celebration held November 21 in Orangeburg.
• During 2019, SCORH hosted a multitude of teleconferences, webinars and workshops to provide training to hundreds of rural health
professionals across the state.

Braggin’ Rights:
• SCORH purchased a new home for the Family Solutions program in downtown Orangeburg. A ribbon-cutting and rebranding celebration
was held in conjunction with our 9th Annual National Rural Health Day event.
• SCORH’s Annual Rural Health Conference had its highest attendance in the last 15 years with 350 attendees.
• Received a clean “unqualified “audit.

Looking ahead: 2020

• For the first time, SCORH is now registered as a lobbying entity at the SC Statehouse. We have
a contract with Adams and Reese for legislative advocacy, and we are working together to
develop legislative priorities for 2020.

• SCORH is supporting the SC Hospital Association (SCHA) and The Duke Endowment to
determine the impact of SCHA’s new Innovation Center on rural communities.

• We are working with the SC Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (SC
DAODAS), SC Area Health Education Consortium (SC AHEC) and the SC Academy of Family
Physicians (SC AFP) to provide training to rural providers on Medication-Assisted Treatment
(MAT) for substance use disorders.

• SCORH’s 24th Annual Rural Health Conference: September 1-3, 2020 in Greenville

• National Rural Health Day: November 19, 2020