CCCC Health Subcommittee

CHAIRPERSON: Todd Shifflet, Community Development Director, CareSOUTH Carolina, Inc., 843-857-0111.

MEETING:  The Subcommittee meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 1:30 p.m. in the DSS Commons Room in Chesterfield.  In February, May, August, and November, the meeting begins at noon with a joint meeting of the Fetal Infant Mortality Review Community Committee.

GOAL:  The mission of this Subcommittee is to research and address issues in the medical system in the county.  Priorities reaffirmed in January, 2005 include health care outcome disparities in the minority community, HIV/AIDS, indigent care/access, early childhood oral health, safety issues (access and use of car seats, for example), and concerns about services to the growing Hispanic population.

ACTIVITIES: This Subcommittee worked with DHEC to produce two Voices of the Community Health Forums in the minority community in August, 2001.  Follow up forums were held in June & July of 2002 to continue the planning process to help faith based organizations develop an infrastructure that will support healthier lifestyles which will eventually lead to systemic change in the healthcare system.  This Subcommittee has taken a very grassroots approach to addressing issues.

Subcommittee members work to support initiatives within churches.  A newsletter has been initiated to advertise the success stories of health programs within faith based organizations and facilitate networking and replication of these programs between church organizations.  The group is working with the Ministering Life in the Kingdom of God ministerial alliance in the community planning required to initiate and support a parish nurse program.  Education sessions, particularly on men’s health issues, provided by the St. Paul’s Missionary Baptist Association are supported through the provision of programs, brochures, and other administrative information.  The group serves as the County Advisory Committee for the More Smiling Faces project with the goal of increasing early childhood preventive dental care.  They liaison with the DHEC cardiovascular health promotion project, also.  The CCCC Health Subcommittee sponsored a countywide health & faith conference to celebrate and promote all of the local faith based health initiatives and plans are to make this an annual event.

Future activities that have been discussed include assisting more churches to get involved with the Palmetto Project’s Heart & Soul program so that blood pressure checks and other simple medical services are provided on a monthly basis immediately following services.  Also discussed was helping more church Usher Boards be trained in CPR and similar skills.