IMPH releases policy recommendations for redefining health care delivery in South Carolina

June 20, 2019

Managing the health needs of a community can be a difficult balancing act that requires near-perfect optimization of personnel and resource deployment. Today, finding that balance presents a moving target for health and human services providers.

On Thursday, the South Carolina Institute of Medicine & Public Health (IMPH) released a new report: The Evolving Workforce: Redefining Health Care Delivery in South Carolina, developed by the Workforce for Health Taskforce. The report outlines recommendations designed to prepare and support South Carolina health and human service providers as they work to balance the demands of the changing health care landscape in the state.

The recommendations developed by the Workforce for Health Taskforce guide patient-centered value-based care upstream, against tradition and traditional reimbursement, to the place where public health, population health, human services and traditional care delivery coalesce.

“This report and the recommendations are the culmination of what began as conversations among stakeholders about how to best prepare the state’s health care workforce in an age of transforming payment models, while also focusing on population health beyond clinical care,” said Kester S. Freeman, Taskforce Co-Chair and Executive Director, South Carolina Institute of Medicine & Public Health.

“Everyone in our state should have access to the type of care they need when they need it — regardless of the health issue or their zip code. Improved supports for our health care workforce and value-based care will, in turn, support a greater movement towards access to quality care that is available to all,” Freeman added.

IMPH launched the Workforce for Health Taskforce in April 2018, bringing together more than 60 of the state’s leading experts from health care systems, state agencies, consumer groups, academia, community-based organizations, nonprofits and philanthropic organizations.

“Today we know the landscape of health care is changing, bringing with it new opportunities to adopt value-based systems of care that address all determinants of health,” said Richard (Dick) Wilkerson, Taskforce Co-Chair and Chairman & President Michelin North America (retired).  “Members of the health and human services workforce in South Carolina need to be empowered to perform as highly adaptive change-agents, able to evolve with the pace of care delivery innovations and demands,” Wilkerson said.

This effort is the culmination of what began as conversation among many partners about how to best prepare the state’s health care workforce for these changes.  The Workforce for Health Taskforce met monthly from April 2018 to February 2019 to evaluate the state of health care and the future of the health care workforce in South Carolina, based on and shared innovative data, programs and approaches shared by national and state and local leaders. The Taskforce sought to explore tangible strategies for fostering collaboration between public health and health care.

The recommendations and action steps have been organized across four broad themes:

  • Embracing the evolution of health and human service roles

  • Training and educating health and human service providers

  • Behavioral health workforce needs

  • Setting the stage for the evolving workforce

“While this report represents the culmination of the work of the Taskforce, its release marks the beginning of our broader, collective work in transforming South Carolina’s health and human services workforce to improve population health,” said Dr. Harris Pastides, President of the University of South Carolina and Chair of the IMPH Board of Directors. “On behalf of IMPH, I want to thank all of the Taskforce members and participants for the commitment and passion they gave to this effort and will continue to give as the state works collectively to realize the recommendations.”

To read the full report or for more information, visit imph.org.

About IMPH

The South Carolina Institute of Medicine and Public Health (IMPH) is an independent, nonprofit organization with the mission to collectively inform policy to improve health and health care. IMPH serves as an informed, nonpartisan convener and provider of evidence-based information relevant to policy decisions and other actions impacting the health and well-being of all South Carolinians. IMPH seeks to achieve its mission by convening academic, governmental, organizational and community-based stakeholders around important health issues.

About the Workforce for Health Taskforce

As part of IMPH’s mission to collectively inform policy to improve health and health care in South Carolina, the Taskforce undertook a collective process to develop recommendations for state policymakers and other stakeholders regarding the future of the health care workforce in South Carolina.  IMPH convened stakeholders and researched best practices and innovative approaches to care that focused on prevention, community settings and the social-environmental determinants of health and their implications for the workforce. The Workforce for Health Taskforce was supported by The Duke Endowment, the South Carolina Hospital Association, Prisma Health and Tidelands Health.