Davia Smith

–Times and Democrat

“One of the state’s largest community health centers is kicking off a school-based telehealth program in Calhoun and Bamberg counties to increase health care access for children in rural and underserved areas.

Family Health Centers Inc. in Orangeburg has partnered with Bamberg School District 2 and Calhoun County Public Schools to provide telehealth services in the following schools: Denmark-Olar Elementary School, Denmark-Olar Middle School, Denmark-Olar High School, Sandy Run K-8 School, St. Matthews K-8 School and Calhoun County High School.”

Click here to read the entire article.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BAMBERG, SC—Palmetto Care Connections has named Kathy Rhoad, FACHE as director of public relations and program development.

Rhoad has more than 30 years of marketing and public relations experience with twenty-five years in healthcare marketing and strategy. At Palmetto Care Connections, Kathy leads public relations and program development to enhance rural telehealth initiatives throughout South Carolina.

“Kathy has a passion for rural healthcare that she has exemplified throughout her career,” said Kathy Schwarting, MHA, chief executive officer of Palmetto Care Connections (PCC). “Having worked with her previously, I know first-hand of her dedication, commitment and success in achieving goals for the growth and development of an organization. Palmetto Care Connections is extremely fortunate to have her on the team.”

Established in 2010, PCC is a non-profit organization that provides technology, broadband, and telehealth support services to healthcare providers in rural or underserved areas in S.C. PCC is the leader of the Palmetto State Providers Network, a broadband consortium which facilitates broadband connections throughout the state. PCC co-chairs the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance, along with the Medical University of South Carolina, partnering with healthcare organizations and providers to improve health care access and delivery for all South Carolinians.

Prior to joining PCC, Kathy was Interim Associate Vice President of Strategic Planning and Marketing at the Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg, serving on the senior leadership team, coordinating strategic objectives, including the construction of a new freestanding emergency department in Bamberg County, and supervising Marketing, Public Relations, Physician Relations, Employer Relations, Community Outreach, Volunteers, Risk Management, Compliance, Contracts, Regulatory Relations and the Tri-County Health Network.

Previous positions include director of marketing and public relations for Bamberg County Hospital and Nursing Center; physician recruiter and marketing specialist for Low Country Health Network serving Bamberg, Barnwell, Allendale and Hampton counties; public information officer at Denmark Technical College; and public relations specialist at Newman, Saylor and Gregory, a full-service marketing agency.

Rhoad has a master’s degree in advertising and public relations from the University of South Carolina College of Journalism and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Virginia.

A fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), Kathy is a graduate of the South Carolina Hospital Association’s Management Academy, and a graduate of Leadership Orangeburg County. She completed the American Hospital Association’s Society of Healthcare Strategy and Market Development online Strategic Planning Certificate series.

She has been published in the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development’s “Spectrum” magazine, “Modern Hospital” magazine, and she presented at Becker’s Hospital Review 5^th Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Her current community involvement includes: CASA Family Systems Board of Directors; Home Federal Savings and Loan Board of Directors; Bamberg County Chorale; Apollo Music Club; and the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Rhoad is a member of Church of the Redeemer in Orangeburg where she sings in the choir.

She and her husband William D. “Billy” Rhoad, IV have been married for 30 years. They reside in Bamberg and have two grown children.

                                    #                                  #                                  #

-Healthcare Informatics

“For the first time, starting in 2019, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will reimburse healthcare providers for certain virtual care visits with patients, regardless of the patient’s location—a move that has drawn praise from many healthcare leaders as helping to advance telehealth.”

Click here to read the full article.

-mHealth Intelligence

“Connected care advocates are lobbying Congress to pass the Reducing Unnecessary Senior Hospitalizations (RUSH) Act of 2018, which aims to reduce rehospitalizations at qualified skilled nursing facilities by giving them more incentives to use telemedicine and telehealth to improve patient care.”

To read the entire article, click here.

-Palmetto Care Connections

Telehealth Awareness Week is an initiative led by the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance (SCTA). Throughout the week of October 15-19, 2018, several events were held by partners of SCTA including Palmetto Care Connections (PCC). PCC partnered with Bamberg School District One to host an event on Thursday, October 18, at Bamberg- Ehrhardt High School in observance of Telehealth Awareness Week. This event highlighted Bamberg School District One’s School-Based Telehealth Program and included a live telehealth demonstration conducted by Danette McAlhaney, MD, Bamberg Family Practice and Blake Williams, RN, Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School Nurse. Speakers of this event included Kathy Schwarting, Palmetto Care Connections Chief Executive Officer, Phyllis Schwarting, Bamberg School District One Superintendent, Trent Kinard, Bamberg County Councilman, and Rick Foster, MD, Alliance for a Healthier SC Executive Director.

School-Based Telehealth allows students to see a healthcare provider in a school setting reducing the number of school absenteeism for students and missed work days for parents. The healthcare provider is able to examine the patient (student) through the telehealth equipment operated by the telepresenter or school nurse.

Pictured at the front of the room: Kathy Schwarting, Palmetto Care Connections Chief Executive Officer, Danette McAlhaney, MD (on the cart screen) Bamberg Family Practice, Blake Williams, RN, BEHS School Nurse, and AJ McAlhaney (live demonstration patient)

Telehealth equipment is located at all three schools in Bamberg School District One and operated by the school nurses trained by Palmetto Care Connections.  When a student needs to be seen for acute care or chronic care conditions, the school nurse can use the telehealth equipment at the school to connect with a local family practitioner at Bamberg Family Practice to complete the examination. The Medical University of South Carolina Center for Telehealth is used as an alternative provider if the local family practitioner is not available.

Pictured from left to right: Trent Kinard, Bamberg County Councilman, Kathy Schwarting, Palmetto Care Connections Chief Executive Officer, Phyllis Schwarting, Bamberg School District One Superintendent, and Nancy Foster, Mayor, City of Bamberg

At this event, Palmetto Care Connections also received a proclamation from Bamberg County Council proclaiming the third week of October as Telehealth Awareness Week in Bamberg County.

“We are very excited to work with the Bamberg County Council to promote the use of telehealth in the schools as well as in local provider clinics. We want to make sure that our children are healthy and read to learn in the school environment. Telehealth technology in the schools can reduce absenteeism and reduce unnecessary emergency department usage,” said Kathy Schwarting, CEO of Palmetto Care Connections and Co-Chair of the SCTA.”

“We want every citizen in South Carolina to at least know what telehealth services are available to them, and their loved ones. Our legislators are supporting this so everyone has access to high quality care, urban, suburban and rural citizens,” said Dr. McElligott, Co-Chair of the SCTA.

Palmetto Care Connections is a nonprofit organization, based in Bamberg, SC, that promotes the use of telehealth to improve access to care in rural and underserved communities. PCC also works with healthcare providers across South Carolina to ensure they have affordable and reliable broadband connectivity that is needed to implement telehealth services.

Learn more about Telehealth Awareness Week at www.sctelehealth.org .

Learn more about Palmetto Care Connections at www.palmettocareconnections.org.

-Post and Courier

“The Medical University of South Carolina will provide health care to employees of the State Ports Authority with a new agreement announced Tuesday.

MUSC will staff and operate a health clinic that will serve hundreds of port employees at the SPA’s new campus in Mount Pleasant, which is expected to be completed in December.

Workers will be able to access virtual urgent care services and set up telehealth “visits” with MUSC providers. Those services should be available to all SPA employees, said Bob Mozdean, senior vice president of human resources for the the state maritime agency. But employees will still be able to choose their preferred health care provider, he said.”

To view the full article, click here.

-John Lewis, SCETV

“Before a ceremonial bill signing at the state house, Gov. Henry McMaster said he hopes to see telehealth continue to grow across the state.

“I look forward to the day we have total telemedicine in the state, when all the people on their cell phone can have access to medical care,” said McMaster.

Senate Bill 345, which expands practice abilities and cuts regulations for advanced practice nurses (APRNs), went into effect July 1.

As the law’s supporters gathered in the governor’s office Wednesday, including health administrators, nurse practitioners, and state legislators, the governor said the law’s greatest impact will be in rural communities.”

Click here to read the entire article.

-WSAV3

“The Department of Mental Health serves more than 100,000 citizens with mental illnesses, but getting services to those clients isn’t always easy.

The department received $600,000 to expand its telehealth program, which allows the department to offer mental health services to patients no matter where they are in the state.

“It’s a national issue, for psychiatric patients who present themselves in an emergency setting in a hospital or emergency room and that hospital doesn’t have access to a psychiatrist, ” said Mark Binkley the Deputy Director of Community Mental Health Services

Patients would wait for days to speak to a psychiatrist, but telemedicine is helping prevent those problems by allowing patients to meet with doctors even if they’re out of town.”

To read the entire article, click here.

–ABC News4

“There has been one flu related death in the Lowcountry, seven in the Midlands, three Upstate, and four in Pee Dee this week according to DHEC.

In addition, Charleston County alone has had more than 300 flu cases reported in the last week and in Greenville County, almost a thousand cases were reported according to DHEC.

Due to the Lowcountry experiencing higher than usual flu cases that has resulted in 15 flu related deaths in South Carolina, MUSC Health has now implemented flu clinics and telehealth services to patients already ill from the flu.”

Click here to read the entire article.

–Fierce Healthcare

The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 in favor of repealing net neutrality regulations, an expected outcome that prompted renewed concern from some about the impact on telehealth and remote monitoring.