2021 Rural Innovations Awardees
The South Carolina Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare (CRPH) announces awards to five projects for the 2021 Rural Innovations Cooperative Agreement Program. The Center supports and manages the competitive program, which identifies and supports projects that address unmet needs or efforts to improve health in rural communities. More broadly, the program is dedicated to investing in innovative solutions and best practices that can be spread and adopted by other rural communities and inform public policy. Awarded projects focus on improving access to healthcare services; enhancing the health professions workforce; implementing services/programs that promote improved health outcomes for rural patients and residents; or integrating health care and community-based programs.
“We’re excited about working with these organizations to develop and implement new, innovative programs that will serve our rural communities,” says Kevin Bennett, Director of CRPH, “These new projects serve some of our most vulnerable rural populations and have the potential to serve as models for care across the state.”
The awarded organizations are: SC Hospital Association Foundation (AccessHealth SC Rural Expansion), Clemson University (A Novel approach for rural interdisciplinary care coordination of uninsured South Carolinians with opioid use disorder and/or co-occurring Hepatitis-C Virus), Fact Forward (Communities Accessing Resources and Education for Success (CARES)), SOS Care, Inc. (Mobile Services Clinic (MSC) for Individuals with Disabilities), and South Carolina Infant Mental Health Association (Infant Mental Health Rural Workforce Training & Support Initiative).
“Fact Forward is excited to receive this funding opportunity from the Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare,” expresses Doug Taylor, Director of Community Programs and Evaluation, “The Community Accessing Education and Success (CARES) initiative will allow us to partner with Darlington County First Steps to pilot an innovative public health initiative to address unintended pregnancies and STIs among adolescents.”
Visit our webpage to learn more about the Rural Innovations Program or email your questions to RuralInnovations@uscmed.sc.edu.
