Public Health

Respiratory Pathogens (COVID and other “Cooties” Continue)

Content provided by CCMS Member: Robert T. Ball. MD MPH FACP  The 2020-2024 Tridemics of COVID, Influenza, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) still require all medical professionals to keep up to date with rapidly expanding legitimate scientific information. Public health/ I.D. experts and official (i.e., CDC websites, not “social media”) can provide accurate information. The collateral epidemic of worsening misinformation (and nefarious dysinformation) is accompanied by an increasing public distrust in medical sciences, public health, and various health care professionals. We must all work hard to remedy these conundra. COVID The 2023-2024 global Omicron XBB sub-variants, [...]

August 21, 2024|Categories: 2024, COVID, General, Newsletter, Public Health|

Revisiting Harriet Tubman as Both a Healer & Intellectual

Join the Waring Historical Library for the 2023 Black History Month Lecture featuring Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owen’s presentation on the Harriet Tubman community work through entrepreneurship, abolitionism, herbalism, and institution building. As a historian of medicine, Cooper Owens has documented the importance of Black women's healing practices to the development of American medicine. Herbalism is one of the foundations of their healing arts (and Harriet Tubman was skilled in this artform). In her presentation, Dr. Cooper Owens hopes to reveal Tubman as more than a courageous freedom fighter; but also, as a fierce intellectual figure. Join us to gain a new [...]

January 10, 2023|Categories: 2023, General, Healthcare Disparities, Public Health|Tags: |

SCMA Annual Meeting Report 2022

Hot Topic presentation by Dr. Annie Andrews, “Children, Guns, and Safety” with 260 gun locks distributed to attendees (with contact information gathered for follow up) The resolution authored by Dr. Lara Wine Lee was approved with revisions. RESOLUTION NUMBER: C- 9 REDUCING UV EXPOSURE IN CHILDREN Authors: Charleston County Medical Society School Health Committee “RESOLVED; that the South Carolina Medical Association strongly encourages reducing barriers to adequate sun protection; RESOLVED; that the South Carolina Medical Association encourages schools and support legislation to allow students to access sunscreen at school without restriction and without requiring physician authorization; RESOLVED; that the [...]

Message from the School Health Committee

The Vaccines for Children program (VFC) provides federally purchased vaccines to approximately 50% of children in the United States, including children who are enrolled in Medicaid or who are uninsured or underinsured. CCSD is able to provide vaccines to students through VFC (thanks to Dr. Key), so that they can be up to date and eligible to attend school each year. The VFC was created in 1993, though, so it needs some updating. There’s a new federal bill called The Strengthening Vaccines for Children Program Act of 2021 (just introduced in the House as H.R. 2347, about to be introduced in the Senate) [...]

The Waring Historical Library-March 2021 Event Calendar

WLS 2021 March Events James H. Tolley, MD, MAT President, Waring Library Society Board

March 9, 2021|Categories: 2021, General, Public Health|Tags: |

Mental Health Resource slides from Mayor’s Wellness Committee

Annie Lintzenich Andrews MD, MSCR CCMS Liaison with the City of Charleston Wellness Committee Due to COVID-19, more individuals are seeking mental health services. Click the link below for mental health resources available throughout the tri-county area.

March 3, 2021|Categories: 2021, Covid-19, Member Highlights, Public Health|Tags: |

PRESS RELEASE Black and Hispanic/Latino faculty urge communities of color to take the COVID-19 vaccine

IMPORTANT Reminder from MUSC PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES

January 14, 2021|Categories: 2021, Covid-19, General, Healthcare Disparities, Public Health|Tags: |

ANNOUNCEMENT: Waring Library Society Spring 2021 Events!

WLS 2021 SPRING EVENTS James H. Tolley, MD, MAT President, Waring Library Society Board

January 7, 2021|Categories: 2021, General, Healthcare Disparities, Public Health|Tags: |

Healthlinks January/February 2021

Check us out in the January/February 2021 issue of Healthlinks DID YOU KNOW? Each issue CCMS sponsors a topic. Let Dana know of your ideas for any upcoming articles. Dana@charlestonmedicalsociety.org

January 5, 2021|Categories: 2020, Covid-19, General, Public Health|Tags: |

URGENT: COVID Vax for All Phase 1a HEALTHCARE WORKERS

Click the link below to schedule directly: https://mychart.musc.edu/mychart/openscheduling/SignupAndSchedule/EmbeddedSchedule?vt=11353&id=38335 Reason for visit: COVID VAX Insurance info - This is not a hard stop on the form.  Enter something. Use your mobile phone number as the contact number Take a screenshot of the appointment confirmation for your records. Bring some sort of identification that shows you are a healthcare worker (employment badge, a letter from medical practice, healthcare license), etc.  This is an honor system. -- Marcelo Hochman, MD President, CCMS

January 3, 2021|Categories: 2021, Covid-19, Public Health|Tags: , , |

How Do Independent Physicians Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine?

The SCMA has been sending out information on registering to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for several weeks. With the arrival of the vaccine this week, physicians have had many questions these last few days. Below is a list of the questions we are getting a lot of, along with the answers, in hopes of helping everyone through this process. Please note #3: How does my office receive the vaccine for our practice - physicians and staff? First and foremost, you cannot be in the pool to receive the vaccine if you do not enroll in the vaccine program. To [...]

December 21, 2020|Categories: 2020, Covid-19, General, Public Health|Tags: , |

COVID-19 Vaccinations for Physicians and Staff

Please see the latest information from DHEC regarding physician and staff enrollment for the COVID-19 Vaccine Read: Vaccine Enrollment Letter (11-19-2020) Read: COVID19 Vaccine Enrollment Letter Dr. Linda Bell (10-28-2020)

December 16, 2020|Categories: 2020, Covid-19, General, Public Health|Tags: , |

SCMA Involvement COVID/Vaccine/Planning Update

From: Richele Taylor, SCMA, General Counsel & Senior Vice President Of Advocacy & Communications ---- I know that everyone is busy, so I want to take a moment to highlight a few items the SCMA is currently working on/involved in. I have forwarded our last Alert that featured the top two items, as well as attaching a PDF on the third item of interest below. Please forward this email to other physicians and let them know the great things that the SCMA is involved in on COIVD-19 issues and the vaccine distribution. First, the SCMA is part of the [...]

November 17, 2020|Categories: 2020, Covid-19, Public Health|Tags: |

PPE Liquidation

WE HAVE PPE FOR OUR MEMBERS! Thanks to several generous donations and our PPE Project group buying initiative, we now have an ample supply of PPE we are offering at a significantly discounted MEMBERS ONLY price. We are giving our members first dibs. (Not a member yet? JOIN NOW!) PPE for sale at a significant discount (average discount 50%) for MEMBERS ONLY.KN95 Masks (50 pack) $1.00 each - $50.00 BoxDisposable Tri-Fold Masks (50 pack) .15 each - $8.00 Box Disposable Non-medical Isolation Gowns (15 pack) $1.33 each - $20.00 BoxFace Shields (50 pack) .84 each - $42.00 BoxTo place an [...]

November 17, 2020|Categories: 2020, Public Health|Tags: , , |

We’ve Been Nominated!

CCMS was nominated as a Healthcare Hero for our COVID response  - the PPE PROJECT which continues to this day! As the founder of the PPE PROJECT, CCMS receives a donation reflective of sales – this allows us to award scholarships to local medical students. CCMS is excited to report that we have been nominated as a Health Care Hero in the COVID Response Category. Get your free tickets to this event today!

November 17, 2020|Categories: 2020, Covid-19, Public Health|Tags: , |

Charleston to Charleston Literary Festival

James H. Tolley, MD, MAT President, Waring Library Society Board Brochure

November 4, 2020|Categories: 2020, Covid-19, General, Public Health|Tags: |

Healthlinks November/December 2020

Check us out in the November/December 2020 issue of Healthlinks DID YOU KNOW? Each issue CCMS sponsors a topic. Let Dana know of your ideas for any upcoming articles. Dana@charlestonmedicalsociety.org

November 1, 2020|Categories: 2020, Covid-19, General, Public Health|Tags: |

The Pandemic Century

REGISTER HERE The Waring Historical Library is co-sponsoring this event with the Charleston to Charleston Literary Festival. 

October 20, 2020|Categories: 2020, Covid-19, General, Public Health|Tags: , , |

Waring Library Society Summer 2020 Newsletter

James H. Tolley, MD, MAT President, Waring Library Society Board Read Entire Newsletter Here

September 3, 2020|Categories: 2020, Covid-19, General, Member Highlights, Public Health|Tags: , |

Healthlinks September/October 2020

Check us out in the September/October 2020 issue of Healthlinks DID YOU KNOW? Each issue CCMS sponsors a topic. Let Dana know of your ideas for any upcoming articles. Dana@charlestonmedicalsociety.org

September 3, 2020|Categories: 2020, General, Public Health|Tags: |

PPE Donated to the Charleston County School District

Ellen Nitz Director of Nursing Services   CCMS was pleased to be able to donate 1000 non-sterile surgical gowns to the school nurses for CCSD! It is always a pleasure to be able to give back to our community.

September 1, 2020|Categories: 2020, Covid-19, General, Public Health|Tags: , , , |

Independent health practices in SC using group buying power to get PPE by Jason Raven

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WIS) - As state governments, large health systems, and others scrambled to stockpile personal protective equipment (PPE), small independent health practices in the state struggled to keep up. Read the full story.  ActionPPE.org is the brainchild from CCMS and has delivered over 2.5 MILLION PPE across the nation. Purchase PPE at ActionPPE.org (Free shipping at $500)

August 19, 2020|Categories: 2020, Covid-19, Public Health|Tags: , |

250,000 KN95 masks donated for frontline workers and first responders CHARLESTON COUNTY

The donation was made by Josh Lambert and his team at inFocus Healthcare Consultants. Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg, Dr. Robert Ball, MUSC I.D. Epidemiologist, Dana Holladay, Charleston County Medical Society Administrator, Josh Surratt, Seacoast Church Lead Pastor, and representatives from the offices of U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Rep. Joe Cunningham (SC-01) joined Josh Lambert, inFocus Healthcare Consultants President, for the event. 20,000 of these KN95 Masks were donated to the Charleston County Medical Society. Thanks to Mr. Lambert for his donation in coordination with Mayor Tecklenburg, Senator Scott, and Rep. Joe Cunningham, CCMS will distribute these 20,000 [...]

Healthlinks July/August 2020

Check us out in the July/August 2020 issue of Healthlinks DID YOU KNOW? Each issue CCMS sponsors a topic. Let Dana know of your ideas for any upcoming articles. Dana@charlestonmedicalsociety.org

July 1, 2020|Categories: 2020, Covid-19, General, Public Health|Tags: , |

Healthlinks May/June 2020

Check us out in the May/June 2020 issue of Healthlinks DID YOU KNOW? Each issue CCMS sponsors a topic. Let Dana know of your ideas for any upcoming articles. Dana@charlestonmedicalsociety.org

Coronavirus Information

Recently, Dr. Robert Ball, a researcher and certified infectious disease specialist, provided a presentation further detailing what residents should know about the coronavirus.  [Post and Courier] [pdf] The Public Health Committee is providing public access to the presentation and future updates. Dr. Ball is maintaining updated versions with more information. You can view all updates here.

April 13, 2020|Categories: 2020, Public Health|Tags: , |

Healthlinks March/April 2020

Check us out in the March/April 2020 issue of Healthlinks DID YOU KNOW? Each issue CCMS sponsors a topic. Let Dana know of your ideas for any upcoming articles. Dana@charlestonmedicalsociety.org

March 3, 2020|Categories: 2020, General, Public Health|Tags: |

Healthlinks January/February 2020

Check us out in the January/February 2020 issue of Healthlinks DID YOU KNOW? Each issue CCMS sponsors a topic. Let Dana know of your ideas for any upcoming articles. Dana@charlestonmedicalsociety.org

January 9, 2020|Categories: 2020, General, Public Health|Tags: |

CCMS Annual Membership Meeting

Thursday, December 19, 2019, from 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM Country Club of Charleston 1 Country Club Drive Charleston, SC 29412 Keynote Speaker: United States Surgeon General Vice Admiral Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH   Due to special requirements and limited seating, attendance will be limited to Ticket Holders. Note: CCMS Members in good standing are entitled to claim ONE FREE TICKET Medical Students, Residents, and Fellows entitled to ONE FREE TICKET by joining CCMS (Free) CLICK HERE TO GET TICKETS

December 16, 2019|Categories: 2019, General, Meeting, Membership, Public Health|Tags: , , |

Healthlinks November/December

Check us out in the November/December issue of Healthlinks DID YOU KNOW? Each issueCCMS sponsors a topic.Let Dana know of your ideas for any upcoming articles.Dana@charlestonmedicalsociety.org 

November 14, 2019|Categories: General, Public Health|Tags: |

Take Back Day ~ Return your meds on Saturday, April 28th

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans abused controlled prescription drugs. The study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. The DEA’s Take-Back Day events provide an opportunity for Americans to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths. The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans [...]

April 23, 2018|Categories: 2018, General, Public Health|Tags: , |

Behind the Bullets: An Epidemiologic Review of Firearm Injury and Death in the U.S. and a Public Health Approach to Reducing the Epidemic of Firearm Violence

This program was presented at MUSC College of Medicine Grand Round on September 28, 2017 by Drs. Robert Ball and Ashley Hink.  This program will next be given at the Charleston Library Society on Tuesday, November 14, 2017 at 6pm. For more information call 843-723-9912 Download the PDF: "Behind the Bullets"  View the presentation "Behind the Bullets"

October 16, 2017|Categories: 2017, General, Public Health|Tags: , |

Take Back Day ~ Return your meds on Saturday, October 28th

The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans abused controlled prescription drugs. The study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. The DEA’s Take Back Day events provide an opportunity for Americans to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths. Saturday, October 28th 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

October 6, 2017|Categories: 2017, General, Public Health|Tags: , |

Public Hearing : House Opioid Abuse Prevention Study Committee

Public Hearing that the House Opioid Abuse Prevention Study Committee will be holding in Charleston on Wednesday, August 16, 2017 from 6:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.  The Public Hearing will be held at a meeting room at Trident Technical College, room to be announced. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   April 24, 2017   Speaker Lucas Creates House Opioid Abuse Prevention Study Committee Tasks Group with Finding Legislative Solutions to Curb Epidemic (Columbia, SC) – House Speaker Jay Lucas (District 65-Darlington) issued the following statement today upon appointing and creating the House Opioid Abuse Prevention Study Committee. This group will begin [...]

August 7, 2017|Categories: 2017, Meeting, Public Health|Tags: , |

It’s Never Too Late To Vaccinate!

"IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO VACCINATE!" Influenza enjoys infecting folks 24/7/365 (although more in the so-called winter "flu season") than elsetimes. Vaccination is the absolute best preventative, not only preventing catching influenza but also greatly reducing hospitalizations, medical visits, and deaths.  Adults can walk in to any pharmacy for a usually free shot. pediatric patients need an Rx. Currently, SC ranks among the top 7 states ranked by the CDC as "very high" in flu activity (especially among elderly folk), with hundreds of flu(+) hospitalizations, thousands of (+) tests, and 16+ deaths so far). Good clinical critical diagnosis (often with [...]

August 6, 2017|Categories: 2017, Public Health|

AMA Zika Virus Resource Center For Physicians And The Public

With global infection rates of the Zika virus increasing rapidly, physicians should be prepared to handle possible cases of the virus and answer patients’ questions. No locally-acquired vector-borne Zika virus cases have been reported in the continental United States, but cases have been confirmed in returning travelers. The AMA will update this resource center regularly to provide information to the public, physicians and other health care workers as they seek to learn more. Click To View AMA Zika Virus Resources

May 26, 2016|Categories: 2016, General, Public Health|

Gun Violence – A Public Health Issue

Editorial Posted in the Post and Courier on November 8, 2015 Gun violence is a serious and growing public health issue in the United States of America.  The current problem nationally: Every day in the United States there are 91 gun-related deaths on average or just under 16 per minute.... Click the link to read to entire article:  Gun Violence - A Public Health Issue Authors:  Robert T. Ball, MD (member of the CCMS Executive Committee and its Public Health Committee) and Richard C. Hagerty, MD (chairman of the board of Gun Sense SC and a CCMS member) The CCMS [...]

November 9, 2015|Categories: 2015, Executive, Public Health, School Health|

DHEC Health Advisory: Measles Clinical Assessment, Testing and Infection Control Guidance for Ambulatory Care Providers

Please find attached a DHEC Health Advisory that provides information on: Summary of a large multi-state measles outbreak Clinical assessment Measles testing Ambulatory Infection Control Recommendations Resources for Additional Information Measles Clinical Assessment Guide DHEC contact information for reportable diseases and reporting requirements. DHEC Advisory: Measles Clinical Assessment

March 2, 2015|Categories: 2015, Public Health, School Health|Tags: , |

Guard against flu

This year’s influenza season is proving to be a severe one. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC-P) recommends that everyone over six months of age receive an influenza vaccination each year. If you haven’t gotten yours, do it today. It is highly effective in either preventing flu or making the flu less severe. The vaccine cannot cause flu and usually produces no side effects or only a little soreness at the site of the injection. If you have already been vaccinated against flu, great — but remember to wash your hands regularly, cover coughs and sneezes with a [...]

January 22, 2014|Categories: Public Health, School Health|Tags: |
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