ANGELO SINOPOLI, MD. Chief Clinical Officer of SC Health Company
On the top challenge
"The top health concerns in South Carolina are the chronic disease burden associated with obesity and underlying cardiovascular disease, as well as unmet behavioral health needs. To tackle these, we must address the impacts of poor health and health disparities in our state; they are simply not sustainable."
On the hospital's response
"Two of the state's leading health systems, Greenville (S.C.) Health System in the Upstate and [Columbia, S.C.-based] Palmetto Health in the Midlands, recently created an affiliation to form a single health company with a footprint reaching nearly half of all South Carolinians. Coming together will enable us to influence and lead the future of healthcare in our state. The top strategic priority of this new entity is to improve the health status of South Carolina. We have analyzed the predictors driving poor health outcomes in our state and are integrating and synergizing resources and creating initiatives to address these for the patients we serve. We're also developing an approach to reach those beyond our footprint. We are intentionally connecting to rural health needs and partnering with business, academic, state and community partners for a concerted effort to improve these issues across South Carolina.
Some of the ways we are working to address poor health outcomes and eliminate preventable disparities include initiatives focused on building the healthcare workforce and access to care, integrating behavioral health in primary care, improving prevention and screening progress, and partnering to educate and drive improvement in lifestyle patterns and behaviors. For example, we are working to improve hypertension control in more than 500 clinical sites across the state through training and support in the Target: BP initiative, as well as partnering with local providers and agencies to develop a crisis stabilization center in the Upstate."