FLORENCE — The McLeod Health Foundation has received $1,428,478 from The Duke Endowment
The money will be used to expand a community network of care for low-income, uninsured patients in Darlington, Dillon, Florence and Marion counties; to establish a regional lactation education program; to prepare for the implementation of a medical/dental integration pilot program; and to establish a community paramedicine program in Clarendon County.
About 21 percent of patients who visit the Emergency Departments in Florence, Dillon, Cheraw, and Clarendon are uninsured. They usually lack a primary care physician and a means of transportation to visit one, which leads to poor management of their medical issues and over-utilization of emergency departments. The AccessHealth program uses social workers and community health workers to assist these patients in accessing primary care, traveling to doctor’s appointments, and navigating the health care system.
The lactation consultation program’s goal is to ensure that every mother giving birth in the Pee Dee Perinatal Region has access to quality lactation consulting. This grant funds certified lactation counselor training for one nurse at every delivering hospital in the Pee Dee. It also funds telemedicine equipment to allow mothers at outlying McLeod hospitals to consult with a board certified lactation consultant at McLeod Regional Medical Center.
In regard to the dental program, medicaid and uninsured patients in the Pee Dee often lack access to dental care, and oral health issues, if untreated, can result in visits to emergency rooms. This grant provides funding for the initial planning stage for the creation of a new model for addressing the oral health needs of diabetes patients.
Despite making up only 4 percent of the patient population, heavy-utilizers of the McLeod Health Clarendon Emergency Department account for 20 percent of total emergency department visits. The goal of the Community Paramedicine Program is to help these heavy-utilizers better manage their illnesses.
