COLUMBIA, S.C. (WBTV) – Starting Monday, July 1, a new agency will oversee public health services across South Carolina.
On that same date, the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) will be abolished and replaced with two new state agencies.
One of the new agencies now has jurisdiction over public health and the other over environmental services, a change made after Gov. Henry McMaster signed the bill into law last year.
According to newly appointed interim director Dr. Edward Simmer, Public Health DepartmentServices such as obtaining a birth certificate or requesting immunization records will essentially be the same process as before.
The office’s phone number will remain the same, and anyone attempting to access the DHEC website will be automatically redirected to the new Public Health Department page.
Simmer said the reorganization gives health officials an opportunity to reevaluate and improve the department’s services to South Carolinians, which he said includes putting more resources into outreach and engagement efforts.
“The people who use our health department and get services from our health department will continue to get the same services from the same places and the same people they trust and know,” he said. “We rank about 45th out of the 50 states in overall health, which is abysmal. We need to do much better than that.”
More restructuring of South Carolina’s state agencies could be on the way: A bill to merge six agencies into one nearly reached the governor’s desk earlier this year, but supporters have vowed to revive the effort next year.
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