Grand Strand Newsmakers

Georgetown schools announce Teacher of the Year finalists

The five finalists for Georgetown County School District Teacher of the Year are: Lori M. Harper, Andrews Elementary; Jennifer Crocker, Kensington Elementary; Breann Ethridge, Maryville Elementary; Jennifer N. Hudson, Pleasant Hill Elementary; and Johanna R. Verner, Waccamaw Intermediate.

The finalists were notified on Friday, March 24. The winner will be named at a banquet on May 11.

Other school-level Teacher of the Year individuals are: Paul Morris, Andrews High; Sandra D. Obasi, Brown’s Ferry Elementary; Master Sgt. USMC Joe Epps Jr., Carvers Bay High; Edrick Alston, Carvers Bay Middle; Nicole Marie Nucero, Coastal Montessori Charter; Kirsten Haines, Georgetown High; Woodrow Nesbit Jr., Georgetown Middle; Tyrone Frasier, Howard Adult Center; Sabrina Billings, McDonald Elementary; Rebecca Nesmith Staats, Plantersville Elementary; Mary Ellen Morris, Rosemary Middle; Ashley Newton, Sampit Elementary; Ashley Smith, Waccamaw Elementary; Cara H. Cook, Waccamaw High; and Jamie Chara, Waccamaw Intermediate.

Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital recognized for superior nursing culture

Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital has again earned prestigious recognition as a top hospital for nurses.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center, a division of the American Nurses Association, has reaffirmed Tidelands Waccamaw’s Pathway to Excellence designation. To qualify, the hospital had to meet 12 standards that demonstrate its commitment to an ideal nursing environment.

Tidelands Waccamaw first earned the Pathway designation in 2014 and was joined by Tidelands Georgetown Memorial Hospital in 2015. They are among only 148 hospitals across the nation, and five in South Carolina, to earn the designation. It is awarded for three years, subject to re-designation.

“Pathway to Excellence recognizes our hospitals for creating excellent work environments for our nurses and for nurturing a culture where nurses are motivated to achieve the highest standards in patient care,” said Pam Maxwell, senior vice president and chief nursing officer for Tidelands Health. “Our nurses are part of a team that values communication and teamwork and goes above and beyond for patients.”

The effort to earn re-designation was led by Jonella Davis, clinical director of medical surgical nursing at Tidelands Waccamaw. Davis stressed that an organization can only earn the designation following an independently administered, confidential survey of its nurses. Nurses must agree the organization is committed to achieving a superior workplace.

“Our organization, through shared governance and leadership, supports nurses’ independent thought,” Davis said. “The openness helps ensure we are meeting the needs of our nurses and the patients we serve.”

That commitment to transparency and high-quality care has led to a wide variety of awards and recognitions for the hospital.

For example, Carechex ranked Tidelands Waccamaw in the Top 10 percent in the nation, the state and the region, and No. 1 in the market, for overall medical excellence in medical care for 2017.

The hospital has also earned the Outstanding Patient Experience Award from Healthgrades for six consecutive years, ranking in the Top 10 percent of hospitals nationally for providing patients with an outstanding experience.

Grand Strand Health Advanced Wound Center Recognized with National Award for Clinic Excellence

The Advanced Wound Center at Grand Strand Health has received the Center of Distinction award from Healogics, the nation’s leading and largest wound care management company.

Grand Strand Health’s Advanced Wound Center achieved outstanding clinical outcomes for

12 consecutive months, including patient satisfaction higher than 92 percent, and a wound healing rate of at least 91 percent in less than 31 median days. Out of 630 Centers eligible for the Center of Distinction award, 334 achieved this honor in 2017.

Grand Strand Health’s Advanced Wound Center, located at South Strand Medical Center, is an outpatient facility that offers highly specialized wound care to patients suffering from diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers, infections and other chronic wounds which have not healed in a reasonable amount of time. Some of the leading-edge treatments offered at the center include negative pressure wound therapy, debridement, application of cellular-based tissue or skin substitutes to the wound, offloading or total contact casts and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

“Our goal is to help individuals experience optimal quality of life,” says Dana Pournaras, MD, medical director and wound care specialist. “We have multiple therapies to help patients achieve healing results in the shortest time possible.”

For more information about Grand Strand Health’s Advanced Wound Center, please call 843-839-6000.

Mitigation plan will help CCU better prepare for disasters

Coastal Carolina University has received federal approval to implement an all-hazard mitigation plan, a proactive, long-term strategy aimed at reducing the university community’s vulnerability to disasters. The plan was recently approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the South Carolina Emergency Management Division and the CCU board of trustees.

The plan is designed to protect CCU students, faculty, staff and property from the impacts of an array of possible hazards and threats. Mitigation projects outlined in the plan include the expansion of the outdoor mass notification system and public education campaigns for all-hazards preparedness. Campus officials believe these steps will lessen the impact of future disasters and the costly expenses associated with them.

History shows that the physical, financial and emotional losses caused by disasters can be reduced significantly through hazard mitigation planning, according to Carissa Medeiros, director of emergency management at CCU. The planning process encourages campus constituencies to integrate mitigation with day-to-day decision-making regarding land-use planning, site design and other activities.

In November 2014, CCU received a pre-disaster mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD) to develop the plan. CCU’s all-hazards mitigation planning team developed the plan with input from local and state officials and other stakeholders.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reviews and approves state, tribal and local hazard mitigation plans, which are required as a condition for states and communities to receive certain types of disaster assistance. In compliance with the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, adopting an all-hazards mitigation plan will qualify CCU to apply for federal mitigation grants.

State mitigation plans must be reviewed every five years, and local and tribal mitigation plans must be reviewed at least once every five years.

Coastal Carolina University announces its first Fulbright student grant recipient

Peter Seifarth, a senior theatre arts major from Young Harris, Ga., is the first Coastal Carolina University student to receive a Fulbright U.S. Student Program Study/Research Grant from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Seifarth, who is scheduled to graduate from CCU in May 2017, will conduct research on theater in Nepal during the 2017-2018 academic year. He is one of more than 1,900 U.S. citizens who will teach, conduct research, and provide expertise abroad during the upcoming academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields.

Seifarth will spend the next academic year closely observing Kathmandu’s Theatre Village Company and working alongside his theatrical partner and Nepali collaborator, Roshan Mehta, to research new and effective Nepali forms of creating sociopolitical physical theater for change. He will categorize and classify Nepali theater techniques as well as their western counterparts in order to understand how Nepali theater successfully achieves unified expression while transcending complex communication barriers owing to the country’s many languages and dialects. According to the 2011 census, more than 120 languages are spoken in Nepal.

“We are very proud of Peter and excited to see how his work in Nepal advances our understanding of theater as a mechanism for social change,” said CCU President David A. DeCenzo. “His recognition as the first student Fulbright award winner for Coastal Carolina University is a wonderful milestone and is indicative of our commitment to high-value engagement experiences for our students. Our Fulbright Council and Arts and Humanities Global Experience Program have been working hard to advance Fulbright programming at CCU, and I have been very positively impressed to see how this Fulbright engagement has brought exceptional global resources to our campus and community.”

Five CCU students and one recent alumna went through the mentoring process for this year’s student Fulbright competition. Photographer Maranie Staab, a 2010 CCU graduate, was also named a semifinalist for the Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Award.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is administered at CCU through the Fulbright Council under the coordination of the associate provost for global initiatives, Darla Domke-Damonte, Ph.D., who also serves as CCU’s Fulbright Program adviser. Seifarth’s award comes just ahead of the one-year anniversary of the establishment of the CCU Fulbright Council, which was developed to support a mentoring program to assist interested students in applying for student Fulbright awards, to mentor and advise CCU faculty and staff in applying for Fulbright awards, and to advance Fulbright programming through conferences, hosting outreach lecturers, and bringing scholars in residence to the campus and community.

CCU has 18 current faculty who have been awarded Fulbright grants, including one faculty member currently serving in Madagascar, and 12 more among retired faculty and staff.

Habitat for Humanity featured at Rotary

Carla Schuessler, executive director, Habitat for Humanity of Horry County, was the guest speaker at the March 15 meeting of the Rotary Club of Carolina Forest Sunrise. In her talk she explained the work of the local Habitat, including how the organization works with individuals and families to purchase a home with an interest-free mortgage. The process includes the selection of those who qualify, financial education and training in many areas to help ensure that the new home owner(s) will be successful.

More information on Habitat for Humanity, including volunteer opportunities, can be found at HabitatMB.org or by contacting Ms. Schuessler at (843) 650-8815 or Carla@habitatmb.org.

Breakfast meetings of the Rotary Club of Carolina Forest Sunrise are held every Wednesday from 7 to 8 am at Beef O'Brady's in the Carolina Forest shopping center where Krogers is located. Guests are always welcomed. For more information visit CarolinaForestRotary.org or call (843) 903-1223.

VFW St. Pat’s dinner a success

There was plenty of green at VFW Calabash Post No. 7288 on Saturday, March 18 as the post hosted its St. Patrick's Day dinner. The kitchen volunteers who served up the corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots were all adorned in green, the table settings were green, the ice cream was green and the Irish coffee even had whipped cream laced with green on top. Many of the customers were wearing their green as they enjoyed the festive dinner. The shopping list for the March 18 St. Patrick's dinner included 230 pounds of corned beef, 100 pounds of potatoes, 75 pounds of jumbo carrots and those who came to enjoy most likely inherited some of those pounds. It was a perfect time to be Irish for a day while enjoying the camaraderie.

This story was originally published March 30, 2017 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Grand Strand Newsmakers."