Smith Named to Welvista Board
September 17, 2014
COLUMBIA, SC – Emerson Smith, a sociologist, health care speaker and president of Metromark Market Research, Inc. and Metromark Health Care Research Center in Columbia, has been named to the Board of Directors of Welvista, Inc.
Welvista, a nonprofit organization, provides free prescription medications to uninsured individuals and a free dental service, known as SMILES, for school-age children in low-income families.
Welvista receives funding from a variety of sources, including the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, hospital systems, and grants. Fifteen pharmaceutical companies donate medications. Over 4,000 physicians are in the Welvista network.
By making medications available to people who cannot afford to pay on their own, there has been a decrease in emergency room use and inpatient hospitalization among Welvista patients in South Carolina. By providing pediatric dental services, Welvista enables children to be healthy and ready to learn in their schools.
