We can’t ignore COVID-19’s huge impact on South Carolina’s rural communities

The burden of COVID-19 in South Carolina’s rural areas has been under the radar because the virus’ impact has been heaviest in the state’s dense urban areas. But we will do our state a great disservice if we ignore COVID-19’s impact on the 20 to 30% of our population who live in South Carolina’s rural areas.

Indeed there are many reasons why this outbreak could, in many ways, have a more adverse effect on these communities.

In general our rural communities lack the health care capacity found in urban and suburban communities; they also largely lack the resources found in urban and suburban areas. And while telehealth options can enable care to be delivered at a distance, this is also more difficult in rural areas: many residents lack access to broadband internet and there are portions of the state where cellphone coverage is not complete.

In addition rural residents in South Carolina are older and have more underlying diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. This makes them more susceptible to contracting COVID-19 and developing potential adverse outcomes

The economics of rural South Carolina also compounds the impact on rural communities: because many rural residents have jobs in service-oriented industries, they must either keep working and risk exposure or stay home with uncertain incomes.

We have already seen that some of our rural communities have a relatively higher rate of infection and disease.

Kershaw County had one of the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Carolina and continues to have one of the highest number of cases per 1,000 residents in the state. Meanwhile, Clarendon County is facing a rapid increase in cases despite having less densely populated areas.

The impact on our rural communities could be devastating if we do not take action.

Experts around the state are concerned that health care facilities and providers in these rural areas are at risk for permanent closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Many of these health care organizations are already financially troubled, and COVID-19 has forced several of them to drastically reduce their services.

I believe that we must invest in our rural areas, and I believe that we should allow the community leaders, health care providers and residents of rural South Carolina to lead the way in providing new and viable models for care delivery.

This may include models that would see:

▪ Support given to health care providers regardless of their patient volumes.

▪ More efforts to integrate telehealth services in a better way.

▪ The delivery of health care in a variety of new settings — including libraries, community centers and mobile units.

The state could play a role by addressing the high uninsured rate in rural communities, and by expanding broadband internet to all South Carolinians (among many other potential steps).

By fully engaging all of our residents we will not only reduce the care disparities in South Carolina’s rural communities, we will also move our entire state forward.

Kevin Bennett is a professor at the USC School of Medicine Columbia. Bennett is also the director of research and evaluation for the Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare.

This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 12:29 PM.