The state Department of Public Health has awarded Clemson Rural Health a $7.7 million Maternal Care Access Project grant to improve access to maternal health services across South Carolina.
The grant covers a three-year project period with two one-year renewal terms and includes $702,750 in one-time funding for the purchase of a mobile maternity unit. The grant also includes annual funding of $1.4 million for operating costs.
The funding is aimed at addressing a critical public health challenge in targeted areas of the Palmetto State where access to health care is limited. Specifically, the grant targets the lack of quality maternity care and aims to improve maternal health services, including preconception counseling, prenatal and postpartum care.
“Too many women in South Carolina have had to travel long distances to get the prenatal and postnatal care they need,” said Edward Simmer, DPH’s interim director, in a statement announcing the grant award. “By bringing quality care directly to communities, DPH and the Clemson Rural Health of Clemson University are making it easier for women to get care close to home.”
The grant will fund a mobile maternity health clinic to serve Abbeville, McCormick, Edgefield, and Saluda counties, which will be the state’s first comprehensive mobile maternity program thanks to a partnership between Clemson Rural Health and Self Regional Healthcare. The counties involved have been identified as maternity health care deserts.
