Behavioral Health
2015
The South Carolina Institute of Medicine and Public Health (IMPH) convened a taskforce comprised of behavioral health professionals and stakeholders from across South Carolina to address a set of priority areas related to improving care and outcomes to better serve our residents with behavioral health illnesses.
MISSION & ACTION
The taskforce mission was to create lasting improvements in our state’s system of behavioral health services and supports by developing and recommending cost-effective, actionable solutions to existing challenges. The Behavioral Health Taskforce envisioned an integrated and fiscally sustainable system of high quality, cost-effective and accessible behavioral health services and supports for South Carolinians who need them.
Members of the Advisory Committee
Mr. Kester Freeman, Jr.
Chair, Executive Director, South Carolina Institute of Medicine & Public Health
Ms. Trina Cornelison
Executive Director, Continuum of Care Office of the Governor
Mr. Jim Head
Senior Vice President, Policy and Education South Carolina Hospital Association
Dr. Ligia Latiff-Bolet
Director, Quality Management and Compliance South Carolina Department of Mental Health
Mr. John Magill
Director, South Carolina Department of Mental Health
Ms. Gloria Prevost
Executive Director, Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc.
Mr. Bob Toomey
Director, South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services
Dr. Robert Bank
Executive Director, Columbia Area Mental Health Center Deputy Director of Medical Affairs South Carolina Department of Mental Health
Ms. Ann-Marie Dwyer
Director, Behavioral Health South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
Ms. Joy Jay
Director, Mental Health America of South Carolina
Dr. Pete Liggett
Deputy Director for Long Term and Behavioral Health South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
Hon. Amy McCulloch
Judge, Richland County Mental Health Court Co-Founder, Partners in Crisis
Dr. Kenneth Rogers
Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Greenville Health System
Dr. Thomas Uhde
Professor & Chair, Medical University of South Carolina Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Ms. Cheryl Johnson Benjamin
Senior Director, Health Council United Way of the Midlands
Dr. Alison Evans
Chair, South Carolina Mental Health Commission South Carolina Department of Mental Health
Mr. Thornton Kirby
President & CEO, South Carolina Hospital Association
Mr. Bill Lindsey
Director, National Alliance on Mental Illness-South Carolina
Dr. Meera Narasimhan
Professor and Chair, University of South Carolina Department of Neuropsychiatry & Behavioral Science
Mr. Bryan Stirling
Director, South Carolina Department of Corrections
Ms. Lathran Woodard
Chief Executive Officer, South Carolina Primary Health Care Association
In August 2017, the work of the ILC was folded into the SC Behavioral Health Coalition (BHC) and their leadership team. IMPH continues to support the BHC and participates on the Executive Leadership Team, the Core Leadership Team and each committee of the BHC.
Behavioral Health
Implementation
Leadership Council
Following the successful release of the final report in May of 2015, IMPH established a Behavioral Health Implementation Leadership Council (ILC). The role of the Behavioral Health ILC was to prioritize recommendations of the taskforce; provide the vision for how the recommendations will be achieved; keep continued, focused attention on recommendations; eliminate or minimize barriers to implementation; connect and mobilize stakeholders; promote and track progress related to implementation of taskforce recommendations and inform the content of an annual written report of progress towards implementation. The Behavioral Health ILC was chaired by Kester S. Freeman, Jr., Executive Director of IMPH. The Board liaison was Dr. Gerald Wilson.
Behavioral Health Implementation Leadership Council
Mr. Kester S. Freeman, Jr.
Executive Director, IMPH and Behavioral Health ILC Chair
Mr. Thornton Kirby
President and CEO, SC Hospital Association
Ms. Gloria Prevost
Executive Director, Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc.
Dr. Alison Evans
Chair, SC Mental Health Commission
Dr. Pete Liggett
Deputy Director for Long Term Care and Behavioral Health, SC Department of Health and Human Services
Mr. Bryan Stirling
Director, SC Department of Corrections
Ms. Sara Goldsby
Acting Director, SC Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services
Mr. John Magill
Director, SC Department of Mental Health
In August 2017, the work of the ILC was folded into the SC Behavioral Health Coalition (BHC) and their leadership team. IMPH continues to support the BHC and participates on the Executive Leadership Team, the Core Leadership Team and each committee of the BHC.
IMPH Publications
November 2020
Policy Brief: Increasing Access to Behavioral Health Providers One-pager
In November 2020, IMPH published Increasing Access to Behavioral Health Care Providers in South Carolina. The brief examines opportunit ...
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November 2020
Increasing Access to Behavioral Health Providers
A lack of access to behavioral health care is a well-documented deficit experienced by Palmetto State residents for many years. Data demonst ...
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December 2019
Update: Addressing the Opioid Epidemic and Spread of Infectious Disease
IMPH has released a new policy brief, Addressing the Opioid Epidemic and Preventing the Spread of Infectious Disease Through the Provision o ...
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October 2016
2016 Progress Report – Hope for Tomorrow: The Collective Approach for Transforming South Carolina’s Behavioral Health Systems
Significant Progress Made in SC Behavioral Health Services and Supports Today the South Carolina Institute of Medicine & Public Health ( ...
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October 2016
Hope for Tomorrow Progress Report
Mental health and substance use disorders are the leading causes of disease in the U.S., and our behavioral health system is failing people ...
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May 2016
One Year Update – Behavioral Health Taskforce
“One Year Update – Behavioral Health Taskforce” provides a brief status update on the processes and structure developed to help achieve the ...
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CONTACT
For more information, contact Maya Pack