USC's new Brain Health Initiative aims to change the landscape of neurological care in South Carolina. Launching this fall with state-of-the-art technology and a growing rural network, USC officials said the initiative is expected to make significant efforts in improving neurological health in the state and introducing new research opportunities to students.
The Brain Health Center in Columbia will function as a central hub for the Rural Brain Health network. The network will feature six rural locations in Sumter, Seneca, Orangeburg County, Fairfield County and two other locations that have yet to be decided.
The Brain Health Center will be located at the newly renovated 15 Med Park at the intersection of Harden and Bull Streets.
Julius Fridriksson, the University of South Carolina's vice president for research, said this initiative will be USC's first step into the clinical realm of neurological health and provide a focus on diagnostic care for Alzheimer's and dementia patients.
The center in Columbia and the Seneca and Sumter clinics are expected to begin seeing patients this fall, according to Fridriksson.
Jeanne Cavanaugh, the director of clinical partnerships for USC's College of Nursing, said she is excited about the rural locations, because it will work with the family nurse practitioner graduate program
Cavanaugh said one of the main goals of the family nurse practitioner graduate program is to better serve rural communities with little access to health care.
“There will be some future opportunities that we haven’t even identified yet, that are very exciting, and nursing definitely will want to be involved,” Cavanaugh said.
The Brain Health Center will have some of the most powerful MRI scanners in the U.S., according to Fridriksson, which will require an extension to the existing building to accommodate the machines' size and magnetic power.
“As a neuroimaging facility ... in the southeast, there will be nothing like it,” Fridriksson said.
The project requested $10 million in recurring funds from the state but only received $5 million.Fridriksson said the gap means they will be unable to hire community health workers that could do home wellness visits for patients.
The main purpose of these centers is clinical care, according to Fridriksson, and they hope to offer new research opportunities and chances for students to train with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. Fridriksson said he hopes students from the College of Nursing, the School of Medicine and the College of Social Work will come train at the center.
According to Kate Chappell, coordinator of clinical education for the College of Nursing, interaction with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients will be a new opportunity for the nursing students.
“It gives students a really good opportunity to see what can be done (and) what is possible, because if we don’t see what’s possible, then it’s hard to imagine what they might take the lead on in the future,” Chappell said.
There is no current program for nursing students to see these patients directly for Alzheimer’s or dementia. Eboni Harris, director of the Master's Entry into Practice Nursing Program for the College of Nursing, said such a program will complement students’ learning.
“Anytime you learn something in a book, when you're able to see it in real life and make those connections, I think that's important because it leaves an impression for you to take forward with your care,” Harris said.
Fridrikkson said plans for a second phase of the project will be in place once there is a good sense on how the first two clinics will function while the timeline for the Orangeburg County and Fairfield County locations is still to be determined.