Monthly Archives: August 2019

August 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day

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International Overdose Awareness Day is held every year on August 31, as a day to create awareness about overdose and drug-related death. The day also acknowledges the grief felt by families and friends who have experienced the death of a loved one due to overdose.

Would you be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of an overdose?

According to the Harm Reduction Coalition, signs of an overdose include:

  • Loss of consciousness
  • Unresponsive to outside stimulus
  • Awake, but unable to talk
  • Breathing is very slow and shallow, erratic, or has stopped
  • Choking sounds, or a snore-like gurgling noise (sometimes called the “death rattle”)
  • Vomiting
  • Skin complexion changes (bluish purple for lighter skinned people and grayish or ashen for darker skinned people)
  • Face is very pale or clammy
  • Body is very limp
  • Fingernails and lips turn blue or purplish black
  • Pulse (heartbeat) is slow, erratic, or not there at all

What can you do if someone is suffering from an overdose?

Call 911 immediately. Emergency response personnel can save someone from overdosing by administering a dose of Naloxone. Naloxone, also known as Narcan, can be used to prevent and reverse an opioid overdose. Naloxone is a safe medication that counteracts the effects of an overdose. If a person is not suffering from an opioid overdose, the medication will not affect them.

After the South Carolina Overdose Prevention Act became law in 2015, DHEC, in collaboration with the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office and South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS), created the Law Enforcement Officer Naloxone (LEON) program, which focuses on law enforcement officers who are frequently the first emergency responders to arrive on scene and response time is critical to saving lives. LEON’s goal is to provide comprehensive training to law enforcement agencies across South Carolina that focus on identification, treatment and reporting of drug overdoses attributed to opioids.

Learn more about how you can prevent an opioid overdose and about treatment resources in your area by visiting the DAODASwebsite at www.daodas.sc.gov.

 

DHEC In the News:  How to check for swim advisories, SC cancer deaths declining, and DHEC grants extension for acute care hospital

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

Is there a swim advisory at your beach destination?: Here’s how to check

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WYFF4.com) Are you headed to the beach one more time before summer ends? You might want to check to see if there is a swimming advisory in effect for your beach destination.

 

Report:  Cancer deaths decline in South Carolina, though issues persist

LEXINGTON, S.C. (Lexingtonsunnews.com) Though issues persist in minority populations and rural communities, the overall death rate from cancer in South Carolina is on the decline, according to a report by the S.C. Cancer Alliance (SCCA) and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).

 

DHEC grants Trident Medical 9-month extension for expansion project

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (Counton2.com) The South Carolina Department of Health is granting Trident Health a second nine-month extension of a certificate of need for a new 50-bed acute care hospital in Moncks Corner.

 

Registration Now Open for the 13th Annual Environmental Assistance Conference on November 19, 2019

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DHEC’s Office of Environmental Affairs will host the 13th Annual Environmental Assistance Conference on Tuesday, November 19, from 9 AM to 4 PM at the Cooperative Conference Center (169 Laurelhurst Ave, Columbia, SC).  This year’s theme is Compliance Assistance and Customer Service: DHEC and Industry Working Together.  The agenda will include regulatory compliance and permitting topics, such as hazardous waste, dams, stormwater, air quality, solid waste and legislative updates.

Additionally, the conference will feature up to 30 local businesses and organizations in our exhibitor showcase. DHEC staff will also be available to answer any technical or permitting questions.

“DHEC’s annual Environmental Assistance Conference unites environmental regulators with DHEC staff and offers an exciting opportunity for continued learning and instruction on important topics relevant to our community and partners,” said Myra Reece, DHEC’s director of Environmental Affairs.  “DHEC strives to meet our agency values of pursing excellence, innovation, service and teamwork. This conference is just one example of how DHEC’s dedicated Environmental Affairs team exemplifies our agency’s values by creating a learning and networking environment between the regulated community and our staff year after year.”

Deadline to register is Sunday, November 10.  Registration for both attendees and exhibitors is on a first come, first serve basis. Space is available for up to 30 exhibitors and approximately 250 attendees. The attendee fee is $45 per person. The exhibitor fee is $300 per table and includes registration for two attendees. All registrations include access to the exhibitor room, all presentations, a light breakfast and lunch.

For conference updates and to register for the conference, please visit our website at www.scdhec.gov/environment/eac.  Questions about the conference or registration can be directed to Rebecca Sproles at sprolemr@dhec.sc.gov or 803-898-3139. You don’t want to miss this event!

 

From Other Blogs: Insulated Lunch Bags for Food Safety, Health Tips for Emergencies, Breastfeeding for Cancer Prevention

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

Use an Insulated Lunch Bag to Keep Meals Safe

No matter your age, the end of summer is also a time of beginnings.  This means a new school year, new episodes of your favorite TV show and the start of football season.  Students, sports fans and outdoor enthusiasts all have one thing in common:  packed lunches.  – From U.S. Department of Agriculture’s blog

 

Good as Gold Prep Your Health Tips for All Seasons

Some things just age well:  jeans, wine, flannel sheets, and The Golden Girls.  That’s right, a 1980s sitcom about four single, women living, loving, and laughing together in Miami.  It lasted just 180 episodes.  Since going off the air in 1992, however, the show has regained some of its luster.

– From Public Health Matters, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Blog

 

Breastfeeding for Cancer Prevention

Did you know that breastfeeding can lower a mother’s risk for some cancers?  We are going to talk about the connection between breastfeeding and cancer prevention in honor of World Breastfeeding Week, an annual celebration the first week of August that recognizes global action to support women in their efforts to breastfeed. – From The Topic is Cancer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Blog

Local Hospital Acknowledged by DHEC Newborn Screening Program for Becoming Champions of Satisfactory Dried Blood Spot Collection

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Newborn screening is a state public health service intended to identify infants who may be at an increased risk of certain disorders. Many consider newborn screening the most successful public health program in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) listed newborn screening as one of the 10 great public health achievements of the last decade.*

The term “newborn screening” refers to the collective group of conditions screened at birth including dried blood spot, hearing, and Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD). Our focus for this post is on Newborn Screening dried blood spots.

Every infant born in South Carolina is screened for unexpected medical conditions by collecting a blood sample, or blood spot specimen, from the infant’s heel 24 to 48 hours after birth. Five blood spots are obtained from approximately 57,000 infants born in South Carolina every year. Once dried and packaged, those blood spots are sent to the South Carolina Public Health Laboratory, where they are assessed for proper testing criteria also known as a satisfactory specimen collection.

If the laboratory deems the collection as unsatisfactory, those specimens are rejected, and the lab is unable to test for more than 50 disorders that are identifiable during the newborn period. Many of these disorders are time-critical or life-threatening. A repeat specimen is then requested, and a pediatrician, hospital, or health department is tasked with recollecting the specimen. This process can lead to a critical time delay of identifying an infant with a time critical disorder, timely diagnosis and treatment. Getting it right the first time, every time is important for all babies born in South Carolina.

 

In June 2019, the Newborn Screening Program, along with partners from the South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA), traveled to McLeod Health Clarendon in Manning, SC. This recent visit was to recognize the hospital staff for achieving 100% satisfactory blood spot specimens in 2018. When the nurse manager, Debi, received a call from DHEC to acknowledge her facility’s accomplishment, she was pleasantly surprised. She revealed that her staff began to champion their newborn screening blood spot collection after attending the DHEC “First Time, Every Time” dried blood spot collection training workshop.

The processes implemented after the training guided them along a journey for success. Here is what Debi had to say: “I could not be prouder of my diligent and conscientious Women’s Services team at McLeod Health Clarendon; they truly exemplify our mission of providing excellence in healthcare! We would also like to thank the SC DHEC newborn screening team for making such a positive impact in the health care of all South Carolina newborns!” -Debi Love-Ballard, R.N., Director of McLeod Health Clarendon’s Women and Infant Services.

DHEC Group Pic for Newborn Screening Awards

McLeod Health Clarendon was the only South Carolina hospital to accomplish the goal of 100% satisfactory bloodspot specimen collection in 2018.  Approximately 400 infants received their results in a timely manner without experiencing a repeat collection process.

Congratulations McLeod Health Clarendon. Their impact on the babies born in their community is a true representation of DHEC’s vision of Healthy People, Healthy Communities in South Carolina.

For more information about newborn screening, visit https://scdhec.gov/health-professionals/lab-certification-services/newbornscreening and https://www.babysfirsttest.org/.

* Koppaka, R Ten great public health achievements – United States, 2001–2010. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly. Rep. 2011;60(19):619–623