Through collaboration with rural communities and practices, the improved care and provision of rural access to eliminate health disparities (iCARE) project provides clinical services and practice support with a focus on innovative technologies. iCARE supports rural clinical practices through onsite primary care and subspecialty support, telemedicine, technical skills training and community engagement.
Transportation barriers can be an impediment for rural residents with specialty care needs. This program provides boots on the ground subspecialists, including pediatric subspecialists, maternal fetal medicine specialists, psychiatry specialists and adult cardiologists to augment the care being provided in the local community. Clinicians also use telehealth or innovative models to expand local clinical services in rural communities.
iCARE's Impact
Since 2017
iCARE programs have served
over 13,000 rural SC patients
and helped rural South Carolinians
avoid over 1,000,000 miles
of travel for care
iCARE services are delivered across
32 Counties in the
Upstate, Midlands,
Pee Dee, and Lowcountry Regions
Over 140 Medical Students
and 70 Residents have participated in
these rural experiential learning
opportunities and
clinical service delivery
Map of Active iCARE projects
Fall 2022 Request for Applications
Request for Applications Release Date: September 1, 2022
Application Due Date: November 1, 2022
Anticipated Project Start Date: January 1, 2023
Download our Fall Funding Opportunities FAQ
Applications are now closed
Join our mailing list to learn about new funding opportunities
The Prisma Health Department of Pediatrics provides outreach clinics in rural communities in South Carolina. Subspecialty clinics include Cardiology, Endocrinology, Pulmonology, Nephrology, and more. Clinics are held throughout the midland's region including Aiken, Florence, Fort Mill, Lancaster, Orangeburg, and Sumter.
Increase the presence of pediatric Cardiology in Lancaster and Chester, SC as well as the surrounding rural catchment area with a rotating team of pediatric Cardiologists. Additionally, a team of forensic pediatrics provide services at Foothills Alliance Children’s Advocacy Center to help maintain access to service in Anderson, SC and the surrounding rural catchment area.
Provide adequate mental health care to underserved rural populations by providing psychiatric teleconsultations. Additionally, this program provides more opportunities for medical students and residents to have exposure to the capabilities of telemedicine.
This project aims to improve patient access to behavioral health care by establishing a collaborative care model of integrated care within the Family Medicine Center.
Implements primary care providers in under-resourced, rural counties with the high incidence of HIV into a PrEP clinic which offers technical support with on-site visits, provides a tailored PrEP provider toolkit, and invites participation into PrEP Teleconsultation
Provides additional dental services to rural clinics in the low country. This will include student rotations, residency support, and training facilitation.
Provides acute neurological care to approximately 400 patients per year in Sumter SC and reduce the number of neurology service related transfers.
This initiative seeks to improve maternal and infant health in Saluda, SC by expanding its services to provide comprehensive prenatal care, delivery of the newborn, and post-partum care.
By educating primary care residents to provide prenatal care, this program will help improve access to prenatal care in rural, low-income communities that experience an absence of obstetrical care.
To improve access, this program will establish a prenatal clinic at Edgefield Medical Clinic to provide prenatal care for Edgefield County residents, especially those who live in underserved communities and have trouble traveling for prenatal care.
Promote early Hepatitis C intervention and treatment through case consultations and FibroScan referrals. Provide expert infectious disease collaborative care with the Southeast Viral Hepatitis Interactive Case Conference for patients in underserved rural areas of South Carolina and neighboring region. Additionally, the program will give providers access to evidence-based education to optimize the health outcomes of patients.
Embeds a Community Health Worker within the local care teams at two medical clinics in Chester, SC to improve community resource utilization and chronic disease outcomes. CHW will integrate health care and community programs by providing patients of each clinics with tailored recommendations and conducting referral follow-ups.
Provides support for Family Medicine practices in Winnsboro and Bishopville to ensure those vital services are available in those communities.
