Through a collaborative effort, CareSouth Carolina and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) opened a new location in Dillon, S.C., on May 10, that will allow the two organizations to provide more convenient and accessible services to Dillon County.
The office, located at 1016 Old Latta Hwy. in Dillon will become the new location for both CareSouth Carolina (previously located at 207 E. Monroe Street) and DHEC’s Dillon County Health Department (previously located at 201 W. Hampton St.). The last day of operations at both of those sites was May 4.
“This is a great opportunity for collaboration and we couldn’t have better partners in this than CareSouth Carolina and Dillon County Government,” said Jim Bruckner, DHEC’s public health director for the Pee Dee. “The co-location of DHEC and CareSouth Carolina services will expand access to more comprehensive health services by making them more convenient and accessible to the residents of Dillon County.
“In this partnership CareSouth Carolina will be assuming some of the direct clinical services currently provided by DHEC. DHEC will continue to see its Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clients and will focus on the more traditional core public health services like disease management, tuberculosis surveillance and treatment, vaccinations, newborn home visits when applicable, and community health promotion and education efforts. Our goal in all of this is to make Dillon County a healthy and thriving community to live and work in.”
Bruckner said DHEC will continue working with the community on projects like Community Health Assessments and Community Health Improvement Planning.
CareSouth Carolina will begin providing several preventative health services currently provided at DHEC, including family planning, Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD)/Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) counseling, HIV support and immunizations.
CareSouth Carolina also will be providing all the services it currently offers at its medical office. All clients served by DHEC will be transferred automatically, and no one will lose access to these services.
CareSouth Carolina CEO Ann Lewis said the building will be a truly innovative combination of services for Dillon County residents.
“This will be a one-stop shop innovation that brings together partners who have been successfully working together for a considerable length of time to make the vision of this new building and the combined services a reality,” Lewis said.
“With the DHEC provision of WIC services combined with the expansion of the CareSouth family planning and immunization services, residents of Dillon County will have simple, easy access to a wide array of care and services in one building.”
The new 18,640 square feet facility more than quadruples CareSouth Carolina’s capacity to provide services to Dillon County and the surrounding areas. In addition to the services provided at the current location, the new facility also will provide space for additional primary care providers and additional support services including a pharmacy with a drive-thru.
A formal ribbon-cutting ceremony with representatives from DHEC and CareSouth leadership and community representatives is currently scheduled for June 11.
A separate release prior to that event will provide additional details.