South Carolina AHEC News & Updates

Halford Award for Leadership in Humane Education Presented to Gerard Jebaily, MD South Carolina AHEC is pleased to announce that this year’s recipient of the Halford Award is Gerard Jebaily, MD.   Since 1981, Dr. Jebaily has been an integral part of the Family Medicine Residency Program at McLeod Regional Medical Center. From 1985 through 2012, Dr. Jebaily served as the Associate Director for the McLeod Family Medicine Residency Program and was named Program Director in 2013. In February 2014, Dr. Jebaily was named as the Director of Medical Education for McLeod. In these roles, he has educated and influenced countless numbers of residents and medical students. Dr. Jebaily’s passion is family medicine, which is reflected in all that he does.   The Halford Award is presented to a Family Medicine residency training program faculty member in recognition of outstanding leadership in providing humane education. The award is named for Dr. James Halford, who was th...

The Office for Healthcare Workforce Analysis and Planning has just released a new edition of their South Carolina Health Professions Data Book . This statistical reference book assembles information from a variety of sources into a single volume, reporting the number and distribution of healthcare providers practicing in the state along with a variety of community factors that reflect or influence the health of the population.     Organized by county and planning/service regions, the  2014   South Carolina Health Professions Data Book  contains: counts of licensed healthcare providers actively practicing in their field; maps showing how healthcare professionals are distributed around the state and where they are in higher or lower concentrations relative to the population; the age and racial composition of the population; community health status indicators such as infant mortality rates, the percent of people with diabetes, number of cancer...

The Mid-Carolina AHEC Health Careers Program, in partnership with River’s Edge Retreat, has formed the Young Future Leaders Program (YFLP) as a hands-on academic, mentorship and leadership program. This enrichment program helped change the lives of over 30 student interns in Richland and Lexington Counties this summer. The first week of the program focused on academics including science, math, information technology and health science. Students participated in hands-on case studies, mentoring, and leadership workshops. Through the partnership with IT-ology ( http://it-ology.org ), students took a field trip to their facility biweekly and learned how to develop website codes and create electrical circuits. On Friday of the first week, students participated in a color code training led by Dr. Stanley Green from Clemson Youth Learning Center. Students put their mentoring skills to work during the second week and mentored a student in the “Grandparent Program.” Mentors learned...

The Chief Residents Conference at the Resident Scholarship Symposium The annual South Carolina AHEC Resident Scholarship Symposium was held in conjunction with the South Carolina Academy of Family Physicians’ (SCAFP) annual meeting in Pawleys Island on June 15-16.   On June 15, a Chief Residents’ Seminar was held for physicians who will be chief residents during the 2014-15 academic year. The session was conducted by Mark Greenawald, MD, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. That night the SCAFP and the South Carolina AHEC Family Medicine Residency Program directors sponsored a wine and cheese reception and poster session for residents, members of the South Carolina Academy of Family Physicians, and their families.   Authors of 16 abstracts also presented scholarly presentations on research and quality improvement projects. Robert McDonald, MD, Director at the Spartanburg Regional Family Medicine Residency Program and Trid...

Palmetto Care Connections announces that registration is open for the 3rd Annual Telehealth Summit of South Carolina.  The summit will take place on September 25 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.  All providers in rural areas, specialists, administrators, hospital staff, school nurses, long term care facilities, and anyone interested in learning more about telehealth is invited to attend. To find out more or register, visit the Palmetto Care Connections website .

The Southeast AIDS Training and Education Center (SEATEC) is offering an intensive 12-month HIV clinician mentoring program for licensed physicians, physician assistants, and advanced practice nurses serving the Southeast region. The program is targeted to providers who are currently providing or are interested in providing HIV clinical care and are willing to commit to the 12-month program. The program is free of charge thanks to funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HRSA, and the HIV/AIDS Bureau.   Benefits include mentorship, intensive HIV training, individual learning plans, capacity building, clinical interaction, and cohort experiences. Applications will be accepted from August 1 through October 31. To find out more or to obtain an application, visit the SEATEC website at  or call Brittney Copeland at 404-727-8405. 

The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) awards Magnet Recognition® and Pathway to Excellence® designation to healthcare organizations that meet ANCC standards for patient care and professional nursing development and practice. A big step toward reaching ANCC designation is promoting nurse certification and further education.  In order to become certified in a specific area of nursing practice, a nurse must first meet specific criteria to apply for certification and then pass a rigorous exam. To support nurses who are preparing for the certification process, the organization’s nursing administration, managers, educators and staff nurses should request certification review courses. Certification review courses provide information that can be utilized in preparing for certification exams, such as valuable study tips and continuing education contact hours. Therefore, in an effort to support the need for lifelong learning, expand nurses’ knowledge and increase the perce...

Pee Dee AHEC is pleased to report a recent collaboration with advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) from the Pee Dee region. An assessment was conducted in early 2014 to determine and develop programs to address the needs of APRNs.   Recognizing the busy and diverse schedules of the practitioners, Cheryl Neuner, Pee Dee AHEC Nursing Education Coordinator, makes the programs available to others via statewide videoconference using the South Carolina Health Occupations Outreach Learning System (SCHOOLS). The programs are broadcast the third Tuesday of each month from 6:30-8:30pm. The APRN programs are also being recorded, archived, and available on www.scahec.net/schools as enduring materials that can be accessed at the learner’s convenience from their own device or computer. At the May meeting, Billy Heckle, Pharmacist and Addictions Counselor with the McCord Adolescent Treatment Center in Orangeburg, SC, presented “Common Drugs of Abuse." Additional presentat...

Dr. Tammy Marcin, Academic Chair and Professor, and Samantha Martel, Associate Professor, of the Physical Therapist Assistant Program of the Grand Strand Campus of Horry Georgetown Technical College are partnering with Pee Dee AHEC to provide continuing education for their 40 instructors and 40 students. “Clinical Neuroanatomy for Rehabilitation: Lesions, Impairments, and Treatment Interventions” will be presented September 13 on the Grand Strand campus. This course will review neuroanatomy as it relates to rehabilitation for occupational and physical therapy practice. A variety of impairments as related to lesion sites will be discussed via case studies. Treatment interventions based on evidence-based practice will be offered as options for patient care. The World Health Organization (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) will be used as a framework for delivery of care in neurorehabilitation. A second continuing education program will ...

Left to right: Allison Gayheart, SC DHHS; SC AHEC Executive Director Dr. David Garr, SC AHEC; Program Director Megan Old, SC DHHS Health Initiatives Team; Center Director Cheri Plyer, Mid-Carolina AHEC;  Center Director Fay Brown, Upstate AHEC; Director of Nursing Cindy Causey, Little River Medical Center;  Community Health Coordinator Mira Palomares, Little River Medical Center; Center Director Gail Weaver, Pee Dee AHEC. This June, the South Carolina AHEC joined AHECs from across the country at the 2014 National AHEC Organization (NAO) Conference in Charlotte, NC. The four-day conference was an opportunity for AHEC programs to present on best practices and successful initiatives, dialog about the current state of healthcare, and look to the future. Members of South Carolina AHEC presented a total of 16 presentations encompassing interprofessional practice, community health worker programs, assessing continuing education outcomes, workforce data and analysis, a...

Left to right: Sean Christensen, Elizabeth Kelly, Jessica Hoglund, Bryan Everitt Four University of South Carolina medical students, in collaboration with Pee Dee AHEC and the Leatherman Senior Center in Florence, SC, presented health information to 25 senior adults on June 2. These second year medical students are participating in a six-week program through the McLeod Foundation Fellowship Program to learn about the inner workings and care provided by hospitals. As part of community outreach, each of these students presented to the seniors on the topics of stroke, nutrition, hypertension and exercise, all with a geriatric focus. The Leatherman Senior Center, who hosted the event, provides a variety of educational and entertainment programs in partnership with civic and medical groups throughout the community. The senior citizens who participated in the discussions thoroughly enjoyed the presentations. They especially enjoyed interacting with these future healthcare pr...

The 2014 Nursing Research Conference, presented by the Roper St. Francis System Nursing Research Council, will take place on October 13 to highlight nursing research and its impact on professional practice. It will focus on the impact of integrating nursing research into professional growth, the role of a staff nurse in hospital-based clinical trials, strategies to completing effective literature searches, and data collection design and statistical analysis. The conference will take place at Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital in Charleston and is offering 5.25 nursing contact hours. Registration is $50 for those who register by October 1 and includes a continental breakfast and afternoon snack. To register, please call 843-402-CARE. If you would like more information about the conference or have questions, please contact Melody Weidman at melody.weidman@rsfh.com or 843-763-2699.