Updates from the SC DHEC Immunization Center

SIMON: DHEC is excited to announce that South Carolina's new Immunization Information System, SIMON, will replace the current SCI Registry in spring/summer 2020. New features will include online VFC provider enrollment, inventory tracking and vaccine ordering, an accurate vaccine forecaster and reporting features not currently available in SCI Registry. More information will be forthcoming, including a SIMON website, training and onboarding information. For further questions, email SIMON@dhec.sc.gov.

Hepatitis A outbreak: DHEC declared a statewide hepatitis A outbreak May 13, 2019. This outbreak coincides with a national hepatitis A outbreak that began in 2016. As of July 19, 2019, there have been 225 reported cases in South Carolina. For more information, visit www.scdhec.gov/hepa. The outbreak is primarily affecting high-risk groups including drug users, homeless individuals, men who have sex with men and incarcerated individuals. DHEC is encouraging providers to vaccinate high risk adolescents and adults. Adults can obtain hepatitis A vaccine at their health care provider, local pharmacy or health department. DHEC health departments are providing free hepatitis A vaccine to adults who meet one of the high-risk criteria. For appointments, call 1-855-472-3432.

A Hepatitis A vaccine requirement is being added for 2020-2021 school year. The requirement will start for school (5K) and childcare (children born on or after January 1, 2019). For more information, see the 2019-2020 South Carolina Immunization Requirements. CDC recommends providing hepatitis A vaccine as catch up to children and adolescents who were not vaccinated as infants. South Carolina VFC and state program hepatitis A vaccine can be used to catch up older children through age 18.

Back to School: Fall is always a busy time as kids need vaccines before school starts. DHEC has some new English and Spanish resources to help you and parents be ready for school. Please visit our updated Childcare and School Vaccine Requirements webpage and view our Back to School toolkit link at the bottom of the page. DHEC back-to-school and other resources can either be printed or ordered for free via the DHEC Educational Materials Library. You will have to create a free account, and then Browse Library, Program “Immunizations” to view materials and order.

August was National Immunization Awareness Month. Check out CDC's brand new 2019 toolkit for resources to help promote vaccines to your patients!

Comments

Marchek Siblings Stay Connected With Upstate AHEC Through Academic Journey

A pair of siblings from Greer are giving back to current Upstate AHEC Health Careers students after completing the program themselves. Alex Marchek, MD is in his first year as a family medicine resident at Prisma Health Seneca. His younger sister by two years, Anna Marchek, is a second-year medical student at Edward Via College of Medicine (VCOM) Carolinas. “My mom likes to say she did good,” Anna joked. “Both of her kids are going to be doctors. She went two-for-two.” Anna (left) and Alex (right) Marchek are pictured with Nita Donald, Executive Director of Upstate AHEC. While Alex and Anna have both chosen to pursue medicine as a career, their interest in healthcare developed differently. Alex describes his discovery of health sciences as a slow realization. “It was definitely something that was on my radar really young,” said Alex. “My parents will say when I was six years old, I was talking about doing something in medicine. I had some really great science teachers in elementary, m

Pee Dee AHEC Clinical Placements Help Students See Challenges – and Opportunities – of Rural Primary Care

Third-year medical student Omar Guerrero didn’t find his passion for a career in healthcare until he began shadowing health professionals as an undergraduate student. “I just knew that I really loved science and working with my hands,” said Guerrero, who double-majored in Public Health and Cellular & Molecular Biology while at the University of South Florida. It all clicked for him once he was able to observe physicians in their encounters with patients. “I saw there was a real need for Spanish-speaking physicians,” said Guerrero. “There’s a lot of disconnect between providers and Spanish-speaking patients and I thought that was definitely an area that I could make a difference in.” Now in his third year at A.T. Still University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, Guerrero is doing a clinical placement at Beaufort-Jasper-Hampton Comprehensive Health Services, Inc. in Richland. Guerrero was connected with Pee Dee AHEC and their Health Professions Student (HPS) program wh

SC AHEC Scholars: Preparing the Next Generation of Primary Care Providers

Hannah Robinson, MD knew she wanted to pursue a career in healthcare from a young age. “I’ve always wanted to be a doctor since about the sixth grade,” said Dr. Robinson. “I remember being in health class and watching the Miracle of Life video and just being fascinated with women and their ability to create and bear life.” Prior to attending medical school, Dr. Robinson spent time working on the obstetrics unit at her local hospital in Rock Hill and observed a trend with their patients. “What I noticed was a lot of the families that we serviced actually weren’t from Rock Hill. We also served surrounding counties that were really rural and seeing how these families were traveling to Rock Hill to deliver their babies was really shocking to me,” said Robinson. Due to a maldistribution of OB/GYNs in the state of South Carolina, individuals may have to travel great distances just to receive the care they need. In its most recent South Carolina Health Professions Data Book published in 20

South Carolina AHEC News & Updates

Search This Blog