CareSouth Carolina Awarded Grant To Expand School-Based Services

CareSouth Carolina, a leading healthcare provider in the Pee Dee region, is proud to announce that it has been awarded a grant totaling $520,177 to further enhance its school-based services. The generous grant, provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), will enable CareSouth Carolina to make significant improvements to its telehealth infrastructure.

The primary focus of this grant is to equip all remaining schools in Chesterfield County and Marlboro County with state-of-the-art telehealth equipment and to replace mobile equipment with permanent equipment in Dillon County. Currently, the organization utilizes mobile equipment, and this funding will allow for the implementation of permanent and higher-quality telehealth solutions. 

Additionally, this grant will support the installation of telehealth equipment at AMI Kids Sandhills, strengthening CareSouth Carolina's partnership with this organization and enhancing the healthcare services available to the youth they serve.

With the addition of this grant, CareSouth Carolina will extend its services to fully support 32 schools, reaffirming its commitment to improving access to quality healthcare within the community.

"We are thrilled about this opportunity to expand the provision of top-notch telehealth services to more schools in our service area,” said CareSouth Carolina Associate Medical Director Jeri Andrews, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC. "We understand the significance of minimizing disruptions to students' face-to-face instructional time. By offering medical care within the school environment, we reduce missed instructional hours, provide on-demand access to care for acute illnesses or follow-up treatment, and eliminate barriers such as transportation or missed work time for parents."

This grant coincides with The American Telemedicine Association's (ATA) 3rd annual Telehealth Awareness Week, which takes place from September 17 to 23. Telehealth continues to serve as a lifeline for diverse patient communities and healthcare providers across the nation, ensuring access to safe, affordable, and high-quality care whenever and wherever it is needed. Virtual care technologies are becoming increasingly accessible, and both patients and providers are eager to make telehealth a permanent option for care delivery. The ATA's most crucial message remains more vital than ever: Telehealth. Is. Health.

CareSouth Carolina's ROADS mobile initiative (Reaching Out and Delivering Services) offers comprehensive remote medical care to the communities it serves. This initiative features fully-equipped medical exam units staffed with a nurse practitioner, LPN, and medical assistant.

CareSouth Carolina's school-based services are instrumental in bringing essential healthcare to students in rural communities who may not have regular access to a doctor's office. The mobile units provided by CareSouth Carolina visit numerous school districts in the Pee Dee region each year, delivering annual wellness check-ups and screenings to thousands of students in the area.

The school-based care program commenced in 2015 with the aim of addressing the lack of healthcare access in rural Pee Dee communities. Starting with the Chesterfield County School District, the program has since expanded to include Lee, Dillon, Marlboro, and Darlington Counties, making a significant impact on the health and well-being of the region's students.

For more information about CareSouth Carolina and its initiatives, please visit caresouth-carolina.com.

CareSouth Carolina is a private, non-profit community health center delivering patient-centered health and life services in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina. CareSouth Carolina operates centers in Bennettsville, Bishopville, Cheraw, Chesterfield, Dillon, Hartsville, Lake View, Latta, McColl and Society Hill.

Services provided by CareSouth Carolina include family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, women's services, OB/GYN, HIV/AIDS primary care, infectious disease primary care, IV therapy, substance abuse prevention, dental, chiropractic services, pharmacy, senior support services, family support services, clinical counseling, laboratory, ultrasound, X-Ray, agricultural worker health services, and veterans choice provider.