Rural Access to Care

Rural Access to Care for Improving Maternal and Infant Health Taskforce

IMPH has convened the Rural Access to Care for Improving Maternal and Infant Health Taskforce with experts from across South Carolina to work collaboratively to develop a 10-year plan for South Carolina to address maternal and infant health outcomes through improved access to care in rural areas.

South Carolina continues to have poor maternal and infant health outcomes, currently ranking eighth highest for maternal mortality(i) and fifth highest for infant mortality(ii) when compared to other states. According to March of Dimes, South Carolina received a score of F for preterm births.(iii) These numbers do not reflect the significant amount of attention and resources that providers, funders, and advocates have devoted to this issue in recent years as South Carolina’s maternal mortality rates have risen(iv) to double the national average.(v)

IMPH is convening South Carolina experts and those with lived experiences to work collaboratively to develop a 10-year plan for South Carolina to address maternal and infant health outcomes through improved access to care in rural areas.

The Taskforce, launched in September of 2024 is chaired by Dr. Lisa Waddell.

(i) South Carolina maternal morbidity and Mortality Review Committee – SCDHEC. (2024, February). https://scdhec.gov/sites/default/files/Library/CR-013357.pdf.

(ii) Elflein, J. (2024, May 22). Infant mortality rate by state U.S. 2021. Statista – U.S. Infant Mortality Rate by State 2021. https://www.statista.com/statistics/252064/us-infant-mortality-rate-by-ethnicity-2011/.

(iii) 2023 March of Dimes Report Card for South Carolina. March of Dimes | PeriStats. (n.d.). https://www.marchofdimes.org/peristats/reports/south-carolina/report-card.

(iv) South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. (2023, April 23). Latest South Carolina Infant, Maternal Mortality Reports Reveal Alarming Trends [News Release]. https://scdhec.gov/news-releases/latest-south-carolina-infant-maternal-mortality-reports-reveal-alarming-trends.

(v) Corwin, T. (2023, April 23). Black infant deaths are up 40 percent in South Carolina. Moms are at risk, too. The Post and Courier. https://www.postandcourier.com/health/black-infant-deaths-are-up-40-percent-in-south-carolina-moms-are-at-risk-too/article_6a466dba-d954-11ed-9acc-5bf2cc7af548.html.


Taskforce Meeting Schedule:

– September 24, 2024
– October 17, 2024 – November 14, 2024
– December 17, 2024
– January 2025
– February 20, 2025

Taskforce Meeting Materials:

September 2024
October 2024
November 2024
December 2024
January 2025


The Maternal and Infant Health Action Planning Taskforce is chaired by Dr. Lisa Waddell, MD, MPH, FACPM. Dr. Waddell is a board-certified preventive medicine and public health physician with over 30 years of local, state and national public health leadership experience. She is the former chief medical officer (CMO) of the CDC Foundation. Having recently retired from full-time employment, Dr. Waddell founded and is the Chief Executive Officer of LFW Public Health Connections LLC; where she provides public health consultative services centered around leadership, mentorship and partnerships. She also serves as a senior advisor to the Office of the Dean at the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. 

The taskforce is guided by a group of state leaders and subject matter experts.

To learn about our taskforce team, view the Rural Access to Care for Improving Maternal and Infant Health Taskforce Member List.

Dr. Lisa Waddell