Tag Archives: swimming advisory

DHEC in the News: HIV prevention, swimming advisory, vaccines

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

North Charleston HIV prevention group is reaching at-risk with free testing

A North Charleston HIV testing group recently began driving a van filled with blood tests, condoms and literature to a homeless shelter, a gay bar and local churches.

Despite the difference in these settings, the recently rebranded Palmetto Community Care is targeting each of the populations at these locations by offering HIV and hepatitis C tests outside the clinic’s walls.

Temporary swimming advisory issued in Myrtle Beach, DHEC says

Some sections of the beach in Myrtle Beach have been placed under a swimming advisory after high levels of bacteria were detected, the Department of Health and Environmental Control reported.

General Interest
Opting out of vaccines leaves these US ‘hot spots’ most vulnerable for outbreaks

(CNN)A number of American states and metropolitan “hot spots” are vulnerable to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease, new research suggests. The reason? Children whose parents opted out of vaccination.

The risk of outbreaks is rising in 12 of the 18 states that permit nonmedical exemptions from childhood vaccinations, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS Medicine. Those states are Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah.

DHEC in the News: Community baby showers, swimming advisory, heart disease

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

Community baby shower draws 100 expectant mothers

Sequoia Rivers waited outside of the Palmetto Electric community room in Ridgeland on Friday, anxious to enter the community baby shower being hosted by Sen. Margie Bright Matthews in partnership with Molina Healthcare of South Carolina.

Rivers, a Ridgeland resident, who is expecting her fourth child, has twins and a 7-year-old child. She said she attended to get the most up-to-date information about what opportunities are available for expectant mothers.

SCDHEC lifts swimming advisory for North Myrtle, Surfside

A temporary ban on swimming along portions of the Grand Strand coast has been lifted, South Carolina Department of Health and Environment Control announced Friday afternoon.

General Interest

Limited health literacy is a major barrier to heart disease prevention and treatment

Limited healthy literacy is a major barrier blocking many people from achieving good cardiovascular health or benefiting from effective treatment for heart attacks, heart failure, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases, according to a scientific statement published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.

Health literacy encompasses not only the ability to read, but skills such as being able to ask questions about your care, understand documents with medical terminology, perform the basic arithmetic needed to take medication correctly and negotiate with health care providers and insurance companies. Inability to do these things effectively can have serious health consequences.

DHEC in the News: Swimming advisory, disaster-relief meals, relief from drought

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

State lifts some Horry County beach warnings, five areas remain under advisory

South Carolina officials lifted a county-wide beach swimming advisory, but five local advisories remain, the state announced on Wednesday.

Samsung donation will provide thousands of meals during 2018 hurricane season

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – A new partnership announced on Wednesday will help the Palmetto State prepare for the unknown, just in time for the 2018 hurricane season.

This, after Samsung announced a $35,000 donation to Harvest Hope Food Bank. The money will go specifically to providing disaster-relief meals during emergencies to families who require special medical needs.

General Interest

Record rainfall breaks South Carolina’s drought, helping planting and play

Two weeks of persistent showers capped by Subtropical Storm Alberto were very good to the dry Lowcountry and South Carolina.

We’re no longer in a statewide drought.

And that’s good news for those who missed having extra water around.

DHEC in the News: New emergency manager mobile app, swimming advisory, heart disease

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

South Carolina emergency managers offer a new disaster app: #SCEMERGENCY

That sense of panic when a storm knocks out the power or you have to evacuate?

The state now has an app for that.

The new #SCEMERGENCY personal manager gives alerts during emergencies and guides users through the countless details of building a disaster kit.

It also identifies which roads to take in an evacuation and where shelters or hotels are open.

Here’s why S.C. warns against swimming along Horry County beaches

The state has issued a swimming advisory for all Horry County beaches following Tropical Storm Alberto.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control issued the warning on Tuesday evening.

“Due to the impact of the amount of rainfall associated with Tropical Storm Alberto, all beaches in Horry County have been placed under a swimming advisory,” the announcement reads.

General Interest

Dealing with heart disease: Exercise and diet

Diet and exercise are two huge factors cited by experts in addressing heart disease, both for young people looking decades ahead and for adults looking to rebound from a medical challenge.

Local teacher Tiffany Middlebrooks, who specializes in health science at Ridge Spring-Monetta Middle/High School, said prevention is a major topic in her classes.

DHEC in the News: Hurricane Irma, West Nile, swim advisory lifted

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

Significant number of forecasts show Hurricane Irma impacting South Carolina directly

Will Hurricane Irma hit South Carolina?

That’s the question everybody living in the Palmetto State wants answered, especially with daily reminders of the damage inflicted to Texas, and Houston specifically, by Hurricane Harvey.

What you need to know about West Nile

One day after the state confirmed a person in Anderson County has died from West Nile Virus, 7News is looking into what steps are in place to keep you safe.

Myrtle Beach Swimming Advisory Lifted by DHEC

COLUMBIA, S.C. – A section of beach along South Carolina’s Grand Strand is no longer under a swimming advisory, the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) reported Friday.