South Carolina AHEC News & Updates

Lowcountry AHEC is partnering with Colleton County High School’s Cougar New Tech Entrepreneurial Academy to provide online health career modules to students in the New Tech Health Careers Academy. This collaboration has taken AHEC into new territory, adapting content that was previously disseminated in-person during an after-school program for high school students. As an after-school program, 20-30 students from grades nine through 12 attended the meetings conducted at Lowcountry AHEC in Walterboro. Now, by partnering with the Colleton County High School (CCHS), Lowcountry AHEC’s health careers program will work with 92 freshmen participating in their first year of the academy. The workshops that were previously conducted after school are delivered online with supplemental activities taking place as part of the school day. Each year Lowcountry AHEC will work with a new set of freshmen matriculating at CCHS, in addition to the current students progressing through their sophomore, junio...

The 28th Annual Rebecca S. Seignious Family Medicine Interest Day was held on August 26 at the Embassy Suites in Columbia. This event was sponsored by the statewide family practice residency directors, the South Carolina AHEC and the South Carolina Academy of Family Physicians. With 103 medical students from 12 medical schools were in attendance, Family Medicine Interest Day serves to stimulate interest and enthusiasm in the field of Family Medicine. The students began the day at a luncheon where they networked with members of the South Carolina Academy of Family Physicians, faculty and residents from South Carolina’s Family Medicine residency programs. After lunch, each student attended four hands-on workshops conducted by faculty and residents from South Carolina AHEC’s Family Medicine residency training programs. The hands-on workshops included: GYN Procedures (IUD Insertion, Endometrial Biopsy, and Colposcopy) - Anderson Joint Injections - Charleston Point of Care Ultrasound...

Lowcountry AHEC’s Health Careers Program (HCP) and Health Profession Student (HPS) Program are collaborating on the AHEC Pipeline Connects project for the fifth year.  AHEC Pipeline Connects provides an opportunity for participating HPS students to practice working as an interprofessional team by exposing high school students in the HCP program to health professions.  Ultimately, Lowcountry AHEC expects to increase the number of HCP students accepted into health careers education programs and becoming health professionals.  On October 25, four health professions students (two University of South Carolina Salkehatchie nursing students, one MUSC medical student and one MUSC physician assistant student) met at the Lowcountry AHEC office to conduct a session with eight HCP students. This session focused on addressing preconceived ideas the high school students may have about the participating health professions, provide information about the health professions and a...

Pee Dee AHEC Welcomes Four New Coordinators Beejay Parnell, MSN, RN, has joined Pee Dee AHEC as continuing professional development coordinator, focusing on nursing education programs. She most recently worked in the McLeod Regional Medical Center neonatal intensive care unit and was also a part time nursing instructor with Florence Darlington Technology College. Beejay has her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of South Carolina and master’s degree in nursing from South University. In her free time, Beejay enjoys spending time with her family, church activities and cheering for the Gamecocks. Beejay can be reached at beejay.parnell@mcleodhealth.org . Cris Averette, MA, will also be a continuing professional development coordinator, responsible for allied health science professions programs. He came to Pee Dee AHEC from the Florence County Parks and Recreation Department, where he served as the recreation superintendent. He holds a bachelor's degree in English fr...

Leslie Woodall, PA-C (MUSC), Emily Warren, LMSW (Lowcountry AHEC), and Jennifer Bailey MEd (South Carolina AHEC Program Office) presented on the Interprofessional Team Case Conferences (ITCCs) at the Collaborating Across Borders Conference in Banff, Canada in October. To learn more about the ITCCs, check out the article from last quarter’s newsletter .

Dr. Sam Stone, Mid-Carolina AHEC's Board President, was recently featured by MUSC for endowing a scholarship that enables others to practice community medicine. “It was just a small way of paying back what has been done for us, because there's a lot of stress on these kids figuring out how they're going to pay for it,” Dr. Stone said. “If we can help out, maybe it will inspire them to help others." Read the full article on the MUSC Foundation website

Rural Matters: Recruiting and Retaining Our Rural Health Workforce Practices in rural South Carolina have unique needs. The primary care workforce is dwindling despite the ever growing needs of South Carolinians as they age and the rate of chronic illness continues to rise. Although the vast majority of our state is classified as rural, fewer health care professionals and primary care physicians choose to practice in these areas. This training seeks to provide necessary education and best practices related to interprofessional health services in rural areas to enhance service delivery in these rural settings. There are seven opportunities to attend this program at various locations throughout the state. Visit the SCHOOLS registration website for more information and to register. Certified Case Manager Exam Review with Lowcountry AHEC Lowcountry AHEC is offering a “Certified Case Manager Exam Review” course on February 21-22, 2018, at their Walterboro center located at 87 Ac...