This week Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Raymond Turner about new approaches to treating acute stroke.   Dr. Turner is a Professor of Neurosurgery and Chief of Neuroscience at MUSC.

This week Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Tracy Stecker about suicide prevention and related resources for veterans.  Dr. Stecker is a psychologist and Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing at MUSC.

Seconds count when it comes to a suicidal patient and getting them to the care they need. EMS personnel often find themselves dealing with mental health patients. Because they do not have psychiatry expertise, EMS often has to transport these patients to the ER where they will sit until they can get a correct diagnosis. However, this could take hours and leads to the emergency vehicles being tied up while they may be needed for more urgent needs in their county.

At the beginning of my internship, I did a story on the Hub City Co-op. During my interview with the general manager, I was told about the Tyger River Smart Farm. Tyger River Smart Farm is one of the few hydroponics farms in the Upstate. After doing a marketing project this past semester, I had just enough knowledge to know what hydroponics is. It is easy to say that hydroponics isn't a widespread method of farming, but its use is rapidly increasing.

This week Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Alan Diehl about research and recent discoveries related to biomedicine and cancer. Dr. Diehl is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Associate Director of Basic Sciences at Hollings Cancer Center at MUSC.

This week Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Leonardo Bonilha about how the human brain processes language and produces speech. Dr. Bonilha is a neurologist, epilepsy specialist and brain and language researcher at MUSC.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16,000 South Carolinians lived in nursing homes in 2015.

Some nursing home residents can still be mostly independent, while others require constant care. Dr. Russ Blackwelder, the associate medical director at The Village at Summerville, says his patients will do better if they stay in their home environment and avoid the hospital whenever they can.

But the doctor can’t be at the facility 24/7, and for years that meant automatic hospital trips for patients that needed to be seen.

One of the goals for telehealth is to bring care directly to patients in a more convenient way – especially in underserved communities. As rural hospitals close nationwide, the expansion of telehealth services can be a crucial addition to addressing needs in those communities.
 
Since the South Carolina state legislature voted to support the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance (SCTA) with state funding, information technology has been a critical part of their strategic plan in service expansion statewide.
 

June is PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month.  The mental health problem can develop after a person has been exposed to one or more traumatic events. For members of the military, PTSD can develop because of combat and missions where soldiers were exposed to horrible and life-threatening experiences. According to the health clinic at the WJB Dorn VA Medical Center in Columbia, 22,000 veterans are seen for mental services in general, many of them are referred for PTSD therapy.

Each year, Palmetto Care Connections hosts an Annual Telehealth Summit of South Carolina.  2018 marks the sixth annual summit. The summit brings together providers, payers, and policy makers. During the summit, major players in healthcare recognize wins and discuss telehealth on both a national and local level.