Monthly Archives: March 2018

DHEC in the News: Opioid abuse, diabetes champion, student-grown gardens

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Here’s a look at health and environmental news from around South Carolina.

DAODAS director: Public education on opioid abuse, targeted programs key to saving lives

A comprehensive public education campaign, targeted programming and a laser-like focus on recovery are strategies the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services is employing to try to prevent deaths from opioid overdoses in the state.

Newly confirmed DAODAS Director Sara Goldsby said while more people are seeking treatment for opioid abuse, the opioid crisis has not yet leveled off because the state is still seeing more overdoses and more deaths from overdoses.

HopeHealth provider named diabetes champion

FLORENCE, S.C. – HopeHealth’s Christy Evans was presented the Diabetes Champion of the Year Award on March 9 during the 16th annual Chronic Disease Prevention Symposium in Myrtle Beach.

The award, presented by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, recognizes individuals who have made “substantial advancement in improving health care systems to improve care for patients through well-defined measures” with particular attention to nationally recommended diabetes standards of care.

Pee Dee students to grow gardens

FLORENCE, S.C. — Students at a few Florence schools and churches will soon have the pleasure of eating homegrown foods as a result of design and construction grants to install raised garden beds from the city and the local chapter of Eat Smart Move More.

The schools and churches are Carver Elementary Magnet School, North Vista Elementary School and Southside Middle School, plus the preschool at Central United Methodist Church, the youth program at Cumberland United Methodist Church and John Calvin Presbyterian Church.

From Other Blogs: Spring cleaning your medicine cabinet and pantry, varying your vegetables, understanding why sleep is important to heart health & more

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A collection of health and environmental posts from other governmental blogs.

Spring clean your medicine cabinet

Spring cleaning—it’s a rite of passage as temperatures begin to heat up and the season starts to change. Remember to add your medicine cabinet, kitchen cupboard or wherever you keep medications to your spring cleaning list. — From Flourish, Palmetto Health’s blog

Planning Some Spring Cleaning? A Check List for a Food-Safe Pantry and Refrigerator

The refrigerator and pantry are where most people store their food. But these storage areas may also be one of the less frequently cleaned places in your home, which could be hazardous to your health. — From the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) blog

Why sleep is important to your heart

Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the United States, among men and women alike. Risk factors for heart disease include:

  • Hypertension (high blood pressure)
  • Diabetes
  • High cholesterol
  • Smoking
  • Family history

While you may be familiar with these risk factors, insufficient sleep can greatly impact your heart as well.  — From Flourish

Going Nuts for Calories!

We all love nuts, but we’re careful not to eat too many because of the high fat calories. Now, there may be less to worry about. In a series of studies, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) physiologists David Baer and Janet Novotny looked at how many calories of almonds, walnuts, and pistachios are used by the human body. There are a lot of factors to consider, such as whether the nuts are raw, roasted, or ground, and how well they’re chewed. — From the USDA blog

Vary Your Veggies without a High Cost: Corn Five Different Ways

Frozen corn is just as nutritious as its fresh counterpart. Frozen corn is a great vegetable to incorporate into any meal or side dish; it adds a touch of sweetness to the dish it complements. It’s quick and easy to prepare—no washing or chopping needed (what a time saver), plus it’s versatile and delicious. There are many ways to prepare frozen corn—baking, roasting, steaming, microwaving or even thawing out and adding to a salad. — From the USDA blog

Tracking Network Data Spotlight Poisonings

CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network) connects people with vital public health information. It has data and information that can inform a wide variety of environmental and public health efforts. In recognition of National Poison Prevention Week, we’re highlighting data and information available on the Tracking Network that relate to poisonings. — From the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Your Health Your Environment blog

Spring rabies vaccination clinics: The perfect opportunity to protect your pets

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Veterinarians across South Carolina are joining forces with DHEC this spring to help owners protect themselves, families, communities, and pets against rabies.

As required by state law, all pet owners must vaccinate their dogs, cats, and ferrets.

“Participating veterinarians will vaccinate dogs, cats, and ferrets during the spring clinics,” said David Vaughan, director of DHEC’s Division of Onsite Wastewater, Rabies Prevention, and Enforcement. “Rabies vaccination fees may vary by clinic site.”

Local veterinarians offer vaccines year-round, but the spring clinics help raise awareness about rabies while providing convenience to pet owners. The support from local veterinarians during the spring clinics provides a valuable public service to our citizens.

While not required by state law, DHEC strongly recommends that owners vaccinate all horses, any livestock that has frequent contact with humans, any livestock that is particularly valuable, or animals used for raw milk or raw milk product production.

Hundreds of South Carolinians must undergo preventive treatment for rabies every year due to exposure to a rabid or suspected rabid animal. Although the cost varies, post-exposure treatment typically exceeds $8,000 per person.

“Rabies is a threat to pets, livestock, wild animals, and humans. Pet owners must stay vigilant and keep their pets’ vaccinations up-to-date,” said Vaughan. Keeping your pets up-to-date on their rabies vaccinations is one of the easiest and most effective ways you can protect yourself, your family, and your pets from this fatal disease.

In 2017, there were 63 positive cases of rabies confirmed in animals across the state, including 29 raccoons, 13 skunks, 6 foxes, 6 cats, 4 bats, 2 coyotes, 1 dog, 1 goat, and 1 groundhog. In total, 26 of South Carolina’s 46 counties had a laboratory-confirmed positive rabies case last year. Positive rabies cases have been reported in every county in our state since the statewide program began.

Spring clinic dates, times, and locations can be found on DHEC’s website at www.scdhec.gov/Rabies/Clinics.

Help us in the fight to end the spread of rabies in South Carolina! #RabiesClinics

DHEC in the News: Oyster beds, mosquitoes, food recovery app

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Here’s a look at health and environmental news from around South Carolina.

Oyster beds near Stono River will reopen on Tuesday after sewer spill

Oyster beds in the vicinity of the Stono River will reopen to harvesting Tuesday, state regulators said Monday.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control are reopening beds from Charleston Harbor south to the North Edisto River as of sunrise, after testing showed the waters were safe again. The beds were closed in late February after a town of Hollywood sewerline spilled at least 2.4 million gallons from Feb. 19 to Feb. 26, according to DHEC.

Horry County joins DHEC mosquito trapping program

Horry County Stormwater officials have a plan to improve how they locate areas with substantial mosquito populations, in order to conduct spraying.

The Stormwater Department has joined DHEC’s mosquito trapping program. …

“We’re already starting to see them. We are starting to get service requests in,” said James Brock, Horry County Mosquito Control Supervisor.

Columbia Restaurants Can Donate Food Instead of Throwing It Away with App

Columbia, SC (WLTX) – The City of Columbia is working to combat hunger in the area and thanks to an app, everyone can get involved.

According to the State Department of Health and Environmental Control, 1 in 8 adults go hungry and for children those odds are 1 in 6. The Columbia Food Policy Committee is working to change those numbers with the help of restaurants and volunteers.

DHEC Helps SC Schools ‘Stop the Bleed’

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In 2017 the Upstate Healthcare Coalition presented a project to provide stop the bleed kits to all regional schools in the Upstate as part of the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) grant funding, through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). DHEC works with the coalitions to administer this grant.

Coalition WinnerThe Lowcountry, Midlands and Pee Dee Healthcare coalitions decided to implement this project in their regions as well. Spartanburg Regional Health, MUSC, Palmetto Health and Grand Strand Health are partnering with the HPP Health Care Coalitions to help facilitate this project.

The state of South Carolina and the Regional Healthcare Coalitions have received almost $1.06 million in federal grant funding. South Carolina is scheduled to receive more than 18,000 “Stop the Bleed” kits that will be evenly distributed among the four Public Health Preparedness Regions’ school districts.

Public school districts will receive “Stop the Bleed” training and tourniquet kits at no cost to the districts. The tourniquet kits will contain supplies and cuff-like devices that can stop severe traumatic bleeding during an emergency on the school campus or during a school event, enabling lay-people to intervene and potentially save lives in the event of a life-threatening injury. Each district will be allocated tourniquets based on population and will distribute them to the schools.

The model for training and distribution would be to have lead nurses in all participating districts attend train-the-trainer educational sessions, where they would obtain certificates to verify their training status upon completion. Once the lead nurses are trained, a supply of kits will be delivered to their offices for distribution at the district’s discretion (factors include, but are not limited to, the number of schools, school size and the number of buildings, and student volume).

There will be at least one training held in every region. District school nurses would be responsible for training the other nurses in their district.

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