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Integrated Health Care Services
for Women and Children
Deborah Williamson, CNM, MSN
College of Nursing
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- Increase access to and utilization of primary health care services for low income women and children.
- Improve the health status of the targeted population through education, screening and community outreach efforts.
- Provide Clinical Learning Opportunities for students
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Children in the area surrounding MUSC have unmet primary health
care needs. The State infant mortality rate is more than 15 percent higher than the national average. Children
have high incidence of childhood tuberculosis, whooping cough, lead poisoning, and sickle cell anemia compared
with U.S. rates; and more than half the children seen in Charleston’s emergency rooms have no primary care
provider. Inadequate prenatal care for women contributes to high infant mortality and low birth weight babies.
This project provided preventive, primary health care services to women and children in this area using an
integrated model of care; improved the health status of these women and children through education, testing,
and community efforts; created unique learning opportunities for a variety of health professional students,
including physicians and nurses in training; and evaluated the cost and benefits of an integrated model for
providing health care services to women and children. Evaluation of the project included analyses of numbers
of patients, pregnancy testing, patients per health care provider (caseloads), rates of missed appointments,
patient satisfaction with care, and cost effectiveness.
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- Total Center Visits: 17,627
- Low Birth Weight: Center 1% compared to for State 10%
- C/Section rate: Center 10% compared to State 24%
- Each year over 120 students have clinical rotations at the Center.
- During the three years 14 Research Projects have been initiated, utilizing the Center’s population and clinical data base.
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The Integrated Health Services for Low-Income Women and Children has been expanded to include the rural areas of Charleston
through a new grant entitled Caring for the Future: A model of maternity and infant care for rural immigrant populations. There is
evidence that the new program will be sustained in the rural area of SC by teaming up with a Federally Qualified Health Center.
Deborah Williamson has a proven model of primary care and good risk appropriate care. The process works by referring all high risk
patients out when necessary and caring for only low risk patients through her clinics. For more information contact Deborah Williamson,
CNM, MSN at wilmsnd@musc.edu.
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