Health Policy Fellows Program

FOR STATE LEGISLATORS

The South Carolina Institute of Medicine and Public Health (IMPH) 
developed the Health Policy Fellows Program in 2013 to provide members 
of the General Assembly with clear, evidence-based health policy information in a nonpartisan manner. The Fellows Program is intended to assist elected officials by providing resources and information related to complex health topics. This program also highlights the importance of considering health implications as factors across all policy decisions.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The Fellows Program includes national speakers as well as South Carolina experts. Panels of health and public health professionals provide information about our state’s health challenges and share examples of promising practices across the state that are achieving success in improving community health.

The full series of Fellows classes is an ongoing program that is offered every other year for members of the General Assembly.
IMPH also offers  a Legislative Summit on election years, which includes a gathering of alumni of the Health Policy Fellows Program, legislative staff, government officials and members of the IMPH Board of Directors. 

The summit includes conversation with state and national experts around a specific health policy issue or concern, seeking collaborative, evidence-based solutions. Learn more.

What Participants Will Learn in 2023

Class 1: Determinants of Health
Outcomes and Policy Approaches 
to Improve Health

September 12, 2023 | 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Keynote
Josie Williams, Founder/CEO, Envision Consultant Group

Health Care Workforce Panel
Ann Lefebvre
, MSW, CPHQ, Executive Director, South Carolina AHEC; Associate Dean for Community Medicine, MUSC; Clinical Assistant Professor, Family Medicine, MUSC

Katie Gaul, Director, SC Office for Healthcare Workforce, South Carolina AHEC

Lara Hewitt, MPH, Vice President, Workforce & Member Engagement, South Carolina Hospital Association

Vicki Young, PhD, CLSSGB, Chief Operating Officer, South Carolina Primary Health Care Association

The first session orients participants to the health status of South Carolinians, the non-medical determinants of health, and health disparities that became evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Class 2: Understanding Medicaid,
Health Systems and Financing:
Improving Return on Investment

October 10, 2023 | 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Keynote
Windsor Westbrook Sherrill, Ph.D., MBA, MHA
Associate Vice President for Health Research,
Clemson University; Chief Science Officer, Prisma Health Upstate

Special Guest
Robert Kerr, 
Director, South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

The second session will include an overview of national and state level health care system structures and financing. Session 2 will help participants better understand how South Carolina’s Medicaid program works and what is and is not included within this funding source. 

Fellows will learn about and discuss changes in the funding landscape as new philosophies emerge about how to pay for health care. Presenters will also address the challenges associated with health care as a unique industry that does not adhere to traditional economic theory.

Class 3: Technical Assistance: Moving
Forward to Improve Health


January 2024 | Day and Time TBD 

During the final class of the 2023 Health Policy Fellows Program, participants will work to fully understand specific health policy issues on which they want to take action using the skills and knowledge gained in the first two sessions. IMPH will convene Fellows with subject-matter experts and facilitate discussions to inform the creation of new or updated policy.
COST:
Free
LOCATION:
The Palmetto Club
1231 Sumter St, Columbia, SC 29201
TIME COMMITMENT:
3 Sessions over 5 Months
2023-2024 DATES:
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
January Session TBD, 2024
HEALTH POLICY FELLOWS’ HOME DISTRICTS

HPFP ALUMNI districts are noted in red
Health Policy Fellows Map
HEALTH POLICY FELLOWS (2013-2021)
IMPH gratefully acknowledges the support of The Duke Endowment and Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina in making the Health Policy Fellows Program possible.

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