DHEC will become the Department of Public Health next month

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) – Changes are coming to South Carolina’s top health agency.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) will transition to the Department of Public Health (DPH) beginning on July 1^st.

It comes after the General Assembly and Gov. Henry McMaster decided to break up the agency and create a free-standing health department.

“Last year, the legislature – through Act 60 and signed by the governor, directed the DHEC be divided into two agencies, the South Carolina Public Health and the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services,” said Dr. Edward Simmer, interim director of the new South Carolina Department of Public health. 

Dr. Simmer said the new Department of Public Health will include most of what was once DHEC health services.

“So, all the health departments, all of our preventative services, the public health lab. The Department of Environmental Services will have air and water pollution, the office of ocean and coastal resource management, and then restaurant inspections and dairy will be moving to the Department of Agriculture, which already does almost all other food inspections,” he explained.

Not everything will change.

“What’s not going to change is the incredible service that we provide to the people of South Carolina every day. For people who use our health departments and are receiving services from our health departments, you will continue to get the same services in the same locations and from the same people you’ve grown to trust – that will not change,” said Dr. Simmer.

Dr. Simmer said the department will be focused as they move forward and plans to add more resources into their outreach and engagement. “Reaching out to every community in our state – faith-based groups, community groups, neighborhood associations, local governments,” he added.

The new Department of Public Health has a big goal.

“We are about 45th in terms of overall health out of the 50 states, and that’s dreadful. We need to do much better than that. I have told our team that our goal is to be the number one state for health across all the various measures. Now, that’s a big goal and that’s not going to happen overnight, but I am absolutely convinced that we can get there,” he said.

That big transition takes place next Monday, July 1st.