Tag Archives: shortage

DHEC in the News: Opioids, HIV, flu

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

What’s new with the opioid epidemic? You!

LEXINGTON, SC (WIS) – It’s a story that keeps making headlines – the opioid addiction problem.

Every few days a news story highlights the growing number of those addicted and the deaths that come as a result.

A doctor at Lexington Medical Center says there is something new in the fight against the opioid problem. It’s you.

Lowcountry AIDS Services tested a record number of HIV positive people in January

A local nonprofit that provides free HIV testing is warning that it tested more people positive for the virus in January than in any other month in its 20-year history.

North Charleston-based Lowcountry AIDS Services says seven people tested positive in the month of January, the largest number in a single month. In contrast, no one tested positive in January 2017.

General Interest

Widespread flu causing large shortage in blood donations in South Carolina

The Blood Connection is appealing for donors because the flu is keeping regular donors at home.

“When donors are unable to keep their scheduled appointments because of the flu, the community blood supply drops,” said Dr. Robert Rainer, medical director at the agency.

DHEC in the News: Eastern Equine Encephalitis, City of Beaufort flooding problems, EMT and paramedic shortage

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

DHEC confirms case of Triple E Virus in Conway area

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – Aerial mosquito spraying took place Thursday night in a neighborhood in the Conway area after it was a confirmed that a horse died a few weeks ago from the Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus, according to Horry County officials.

Kelly Brosky, interim spokesperson for Horry County, said it is the only confirmed case of the Triple E Virus locally so far this year.

City of Beaufort to fix flooding problems with new task force

BEAUFORT, SC. (WSAV) – Tropical Storm Irma brought flooding to homes across the City of Beaufort, many families had just moved back in after recovering from Matthew’s flooding 11 months earlier.

“We’ve had people who’ve lost their houses twice in one year, that’s wrong,” said Mayor Billy Keyserling.

That’s why the state, county and, city are taking action. South Carolina State Representative Shannon Erickson put together a task force at the beginning of September to survey the issues and find a permanent solution.

South Carolina faces EMT and paramedic shortage, HGTC program answers to needs

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – A statewide meeting was held Wednesday to discuss the shortage of EMT and paramedic-trained professionals in South Carolina.

Officials within the health field and the Department of Health and Environmental Control are working on ways to solve the problem.

DHEC in the News: EMT jobs, WiseWoman health screenings, Narcan

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

EMS Officials Working With Technical College System to Fill EMT Jobs

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)- Agencies from around the state made their way to Columbia to discuss how to raise the number of emergency medical technicians.

“We have a shortage in South Carolina. People tend to be educate in South Carolina, become EMTs in South Carolina, and then not stick around. We have a decline every single year in the amount of paramedics that we have in the state,” DHEC EMS Bureau Chief Robert Wronski. “This year we have seen a 1.2 percent decrease in the amount of credentialed paramedics that we have in the state.”

RMC offers free WiseWoman health screenings

The Regional Medical Center and the Tri-County Health Network will offer free WiseWoman™ health screenings and lifestyle education to 200 women ages 40-64 on Saturday, Oct. 14. Doors open at 8 a.m., with screenings available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the RMC Annex.

The WiseWoman™ (Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for WOMen Across the Nation) health screening aims to help low-income women reduce their risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Horry County Sheriff’s Deputies will now carry Narcan

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – For the first time, the Horry County Sheriff’s Office will begin using Narcan.

The Sheriff’s Office is partnering with the Law Enforcement Officer Naloxone (LEON) program, which is a partnership between South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS), and the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office for Narcan training on Tuesday and Wednesday.