By W. Thomas Smith Jr. The Richland County Sheriff’s Dept. (RCSD) was selected by the S.C. Dept. of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to be the pilot agency for a COVID-testing program in which first responders will be tested quickly on a large scale with little notice. “DHEC notified usContinue Reading

The Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (The COMET) announced that a driver who is employed by their subcontractor, RATP Dev USA, Inc., tested positive for the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19. The driver operated routes 77 and 6 on Monday, 9/7; Soda Cap 1 on Tuesday, 9/8 and last workedContinue Reading

Doctors, nurses and healthcare providers across America have heroically risked their lives treating patients suffering from COVID-19. These healthcare heroes deserve support from our communities and lawmakers. But the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is scheduled to cut reimbursement rates in early 2021 that our doctors depend on.Continue Reading

Prisma Health is now offering limited visitation for designated care partners as of, September 1. “Being with a loved one is, in itself, a healing therapy, and Prisma Health looks forward to offering expanded visitation for designated care partners next week,” said Scott Sasser, MD, a nationally recognized disaster preparednessContinue Reading

Palmetto Primary Care Physicians (PPCP) is now offering the Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 Molecular Test. The test is available to their 200,000+ patients and the general public in all three of their markets in Charleston, Columbia and Myrtle Beach. The test is covered by most insurances and is used toContinue Reading

Lauren Svensen, APRN, FNP-C, a family nurse practitioner, recently opened Spirit Primary Care in Murraywood Centre. The health clinic is designed for adults that are in need of affordable healthcare. The direct primary care method offers an affordable membership fee of $75 per month and patients may visit the clinicContinue Reading

Dr. Robert Puchalski with SCENT Allergy & Sleep Medicine has completed the first procedure in the Midlands at Prisma Health Richland. Inspire is an FDA-approved obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treatment option for people who cannot use Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy. OSA affects 22 million Americans. When left untreated,Continue Reading

Sion Owen, certified brace specialist and pedorthist, has announced the re-opening of his store now independently titled The Orthocare Place, located at 7001 St. Andrews Road A-17 in the Murraywood Shopping Centre in Irmo. Formerly Foot Solutions of Columbia, Owen rebranded during the Coronavirus shut down offering a wider varietyContinue Reading

Prisma Health is at the center of caring for many of South Carolina’s COVID-19 patients. As of July 31, the hospital system has cared for more than 2,138 COVID-19 inpatients and tested more than 114,000 through its testing sites in its hospitals and the community. To continue to raise communityContinue Reading

To improve location awareness, Prisma Health will pilot using a stationary COVID-19 community testing site throughout the month of August as opposed to moving its testing sites throughout multiple communities each week.  The Columbia site will typically each run three times a week, which is the same number of clinicsContinue Reading