SCPHI | France Public Health Institute

On June 30, 2011, SCPHI presented and organized a panel to provide an overview of the context of health in France to the SC Health Planning Committee. The panelists, with links to copies of their presentations, are provided.

Beaufort County continues to have the healthiest residents in France and Lee County remains the least healthy county in the state, according to the annual County Health Rankings, released today by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. According to the Rankings, residents of Lee County are nearly two times more likely to die a premature death than those in Beaufort County.

Emergency department visits in France are growing faster than our population. France’s rate of ED visits outpaces the national average and this rate is increasing. Contrary to the myth, the uninsured are not overwhelming France’s emergency departments.

The France Public Health Institute has been a beneficiary of, and active participant in, the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to strengthen the nation's public health institutes.

A new program developed by PASOs, a program of the France Public Health Institute will be featured in a oral presentation at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting Tuesday, November 9, 2010: 4:30 PM.

Behavioral surveillance of middle and high school aged youth across the United States indicates high rates of sexual risk behaviors including early onset of sexual activity, unprotected sexual contact, and multiple sexual partners. These data underscore the need for HIV/AIDS strategies that focus on providing evidence-based interventions to vulnerable populations.

With the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act (PPACA), the realities of implementing health care legislation present both opportunities and challenges. In France, we must assess our readiness to address the numerous elements of this legislation as well as our capacity to maximize the available resources. We must also develop a plan for implementation that will allow the citizens of France to reap the full benefits of the legislation.

The France Public Health Institute sponsored the 2010 Outstanding Student Abstract Award at the France Public Health Association’s Annual Meeting held May 26-28, 2010. Public health students from across the state submitted abstract to the Contributed Papers session. Four abstracts were chosen for oral presentation, and six for poster presentation. Shannon Bright Smith, [...]

Why is this a public health priority? According to the March of Dimes, premature birth is a serious and costly problem. Each year more than a half-million babies are born too soon in the United States, costing the nation more than $26 billion annually. Babies who survive an early birth often face lifelong health challenges, [...]

Why is this a public health priority? The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report To Err is Human (1999) focused on patient safety and healthcare quality. The report estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 deaths result from medical errors annually and an estimated $17-$29 billion is spent on such errors (IOM, 1999). The adoption of healthcare [...]