COLUMBIA, S.C. – In an effort to promote transparency and continually improve care across the state, the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) will make enforcement actions taken by Healthcare Quality readily available on its website.
DPH’s Healthcare Quality licenses and regulates a wide range of healthcare facilities and services across the state. DPH has the authority to take enforcement action when there are violations of statutes or regulations at licensed facilities or by providers, which can result in civil monetary penalties, suspensions, or revocations.
Enforcement actions were previously reported to the South Carolina Board of Health and Environmental Control, which was disbanded when the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) was split into two agencies on July 1. DPH will release a summary sheet of these enforcement actions monthly on its Healthcare Quality Enforcement Actions webpage and the agency will notify the public that the new information is available via social media.
“Staff within DPH’s Bureau of Healthcare Quality work tirelessly to ensure that facilities and providers across the state comply with regulations and statutes and provide a high level of care to our residents,” said Gwendolyn Thompson, Healthcare Quality deputy director. “If a facility or provider is in violation, South Carolinians have the right to know. Transparency is key in ensuring that care improves.”
The agency determines violations of the state’s statutes and regulations during routine inspections and complaint investigations. If the violations are of a nature or frequency where staff determine enforcement is warranted, then the agency may move forward with an enforcement action, which generally begins an enforcement conference with the facility or provider.
Each monthly enforcement action report contains the enforcement orders that were executed for a given time period.
The summary sheet is a compilation of the total number of orders and assessed civil monetary penalties by program area for that time period. In the report following the summary sheet, you will find the name of the party subject to the order, a summary of inspections, investigations, and violations, and the actions the party was required to take including any assessed civil monetary penalties.
DPH reminds family members and friends of the importance of championing for their loved ones who are residents of a licensed facility or who are receiving health care services in South Carolina. Complaints against facilities licensed by Healthcare Quality can be made online.
Visit the DPH website to view the most recent and historical enforcement action reports.
