SC DHEC Restructuring: What You Need to Know
In May of last year, the Governor signed a law ordering the restructuring of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) into two new agencies: the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) and South Carolina Public Health (DPH). This change is set to be implemented on July 1, 2024 of this year.
For South Carolina hospitals, it’s important to know that the new DPH will be organized into three different divisions:
- Health Promotion and Services, which will promote community health and well-being by protecting people from disease, illness and injury, as well as providing access to quality care,
- Healthcare Quality, which will enhance patient safety and the quality of care by leading efforts to make healthcare in South Carolina safer, more accessible, affordable, equitable and of higher quality,
- and Administration, which will provide the agency’s program areas and teams with the necessary support to ensure the successful accomplishment of its mission and vision.
All DHEC staff are currently slated to move to one of the new agencies or to the Department of Agriculture, which means any staff that you work with at DHEC now will likely be the same staff you will work with at the other agencies in the future. Licenses for healthcare facilities and certificates that DHEC issued before July 1, 2024, will continue to be valid after this date. DPH will update licenses and certifications at the time of renewal. Any new licenses or certifications issued on or after July 1, 2024, will contain the DPH agency name and logo.
For more information on the restructuring process, see DHEC’s explainer here.