CareSouth Carolina Lauded on National Stage for Quality Health Care

CareSouth Carolina was recently ushered into the national spotlight as one of the very best at providing quality health care.    In fact, of the more than 1,900 community health centers in the nation, CareSouth Carolina was one of only three asked to present its story at a national conference focused on showcasing those that have achieved and sustained improved health outcomes for patients. 

The “Harvest of Driver Insights” conference was jointly sponsored by the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities.   

Ann Lewis, CEO at CareSouth Carolina, presented the organization’s focus on achieving some of the best health outcomes in the nation for patients to an audience of some of the most influential policy makers in the nation, including Mary Wakefield, the new administrator for HRSA, as well as senior leaders and project officers from a broad representation of those in the federal government currently involved in the dialogue on health care reform.      

“It was really quite an honor” said Lewis, “but I didn’t realize how much of an honor until I was up on stage presenting.   When they started giving me continual ovations for some of the outcomes we have achieved at CareSouth, I was really kind of stunned.   Truth is, we have embedded quality into everything we do.  It’s the way we do business.  And, I’ve presented it so many times, I think I sometimes forget how remarkable our story really is.”   

In short, CareSouth Carolina provides care to about 35,000 people living in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina.   Those with diabetes, asthma, depression and high blood pressure have health outcomes such as blood pressure control, diabetes control, depression severity and others that exceed and surpass national standards.  More to the point, CareSouth patients are healthier than most people in most places, including those most affluent, in the world.  And, the care being provided by CareSouth Carolina is more cost effective.  For example, according to a study conducted by the SC Office of Research and Statistics,  a diabetic receiving care at CareSouth Carolina only costs the system $343 compared with an average of $1,591 a year at a comparable provider in South Carolina.   

“I won’t lie.  The work has not been easy,” Lewis said.  “Change is never easy.   This is a continual process.  But, I am also very proud of our organization.   It’s sometimes hard for us to say, but CareSouth is a national leader – right here in South Carolina, right here in the Pee Region.   I really wish all the staff at CareSouth could have been there.   It really has been their work that has accomplished this success.”  

Lewis began her presentation by first inviting the audience to move to South Carolina.  She touched on the natural beauty of the coast and graciousness of the people, but she then provided them with those dismal health statistics that continue to plague South Carolina – the likelihood of having and dying from heart disease, stroke and diabetes is about as high as it gets.    The good news, she said, is if you live in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina, you can choose to be a patient at CareSouth Carolina. 

 “And, if you are a patient of CareSouth Carolina, you will be one of the healthiest people in the nation, no matter what chronic condition you have, your race, or your income.”

CareSouth Carolina, over the past decade, reorganized its entire system into teams that care for specific panels of patients that the patients actually choose themselves; supplied these teams and the patient with care managers; gave each patient the knowledge, confidence and ability to be responsible and take control of his or her health; proactively began planning, in partnership with the patient, care for individuals instead of waiting for things to happen; provided the patient with access to integrated behavioral health providers that provide mental health counseling at every CareSouth center; developed a patient registry through which the organization can measure and improve performance by individual patient and by populations of patients; and standardized its processes to improve reliability.  By reliability, Lewis emphasizes the importance of care, and all the processes that go into the delivery of that care, being provided via evidenced-based standards in the same manner across the board.  In the same way that major companies ensure the making of quality products or the delivery of quality services, CareSouth Carolina, she says, is making sure that health care is being provided at its best. 

“It really has been a transformation,” Lewis said.  “Also, I think it’s important to note that we are a safety net organization, providing care to the most vulnerable, with some of the poorest socio-economic indicators in the nation, in a rural area of the nation with some of the poorest health outcomes.   In some ways, the fact that we are achieving the results we are proves that it can be done, and done well.”

“I only hope that those discussing health care reform don’t forget about community health centers, and don’t forget to make quality the key to any real meaningful reform of the system.”