South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201 Project Director Name: Elizabeth Bair Phone: (803) 896-0991 Email: bairea@dhec.sc.gov Website Address: https://scdhec.gov/ Grant Program Funds Requested: $345,000/year for Years 1-5 Project Abstract Summary The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) Public Health Laboratory (PHL) and the SC DHEC Bureau of Maternal and Child Health (MCH Bureau) aim to rapidly scale-up South Carolina’s newborn screening (NBS) capabilities and outreach efforts to align with national NBS quality improvement efforts. Specifically, SC DHEC aims to enhance NBS timeliness, reduce manual data entry errors, expand their RUSP testing menu and increase health equity among SC residents by integrating a Newborn Screening Data Management Suite (NBS DMS) into the state’s Laboratory Information System (LIMS). The DMS will be a cloud-based information management system that will enhance newborn patient care and intervention timeliness through smart data integration and secure data sharing amongst stakeholders. The PHL and MCH Bureau plan to leverage longstanding partnerships with the Division of Vital Statistics and several clinical institutions to collaboratively achieve programmatic success. The PHL will work closely with clinical partners to equip front line clinical and public health staff with the understanding of newly developed NBS data management systems for use in the rapid screening of newborns. Similarly, the PHL and MCH have cooperative plans to expand SC DHEC’s community outreach efforts to improve health equity in South Carolina (creation of a NBS online community dashboard, NBS Media Campaigns, PHL Student Tours, etc.). To manage stakeholder collaborations, coordinate modernization of NBS data systems and fulfill other grant deliverables, SC DHEC will hire a PHL NBS Propel Grant Coordinator. SC DHEC will also retain a PHL Grant Evalua
tor to routinely execute SC DHEC’s NBS grant evaluation and monitoring systems with the highest level of fidelity. This NBS Propel program will serve the state of South Carolina well as SC DHEC 1) innovates its NBS data management system and technical capacity, 2) expands RUSP testing, and 3) improves statewide NBS awareness through enhanced NBS outreach efforts. Collectively, these efforts will help DHEC continue promoting community health and well-being for SC’s youngest residents and their families.