Tri-County Commission expanding for program; psychiatric residency to be added

The Tri-County Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse is adding 6,500 square feet to provide space for a psychiatric residency training program.

The commission broke ground on the $2.4 million expansion on Feb. 24. The addition is located behind the facility at 910 Cook Road.

“The residency program is a huge opportunity for our area and state to train psychiatrists with the hope that many will stay in the area or South Carolina once they complete their residency,” William J. McCord Adolescent Treatment Facility Executive Director Mike Dennis said. “The need for more psychiatrists and behavioral health services in South Carolina and, in particular, rural communities is huge,” he said.

The addition will include exam rooms, offices, lab space and multipurpose rooms for education and outreach.

The building’s architect is Lexington-based G3S Architecture and Design. O’Cain Construction is the general contractor for the expansion.

The completion date for the expansion is targeted for October 2023.

About $501,000 of the funds will come from state-appropriated money from the S.C. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services and the state legislature.

The addition is designed to take advantage of the commission staff already on-site for support services.

The groundbreaking comes at an opportune time as the commission has just been approved to provide a psychiatric residency training program.

The commission applied to the national Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in July 2022 and a virtual site visit was made in September 2022.

The program is designed to fill the need for psychiatry graduates.

Currently the Orangeburg Area Mental Health Center does have psychiatrists, but outside of OAMHC there is one part-time psychiatrist available in Orangeburg, Bamberg and Calhoun counties, Dennis said.

The commission is already licensed as a psychiatric hospital.

The targeted goal for the residency program to begin is July 2023. The residency students will be able to use some existing offices until the addition is built.

“Their first year will be primarily spent at the MUSC/RMC hospital and its outpatient family medicine and neurology offices, so we’ve got some time to get the addition built,” Dennis said.

The residents would rotate through MUSC Orangeburg’s inpatient and outpatient departments, as well as the emergency department.

Residents will also rotate through the Orangeburg County Detention Center, which has a mental health specialist but not a psychiatrist. Plans are for residents to provide services for the detention center.

The program will include 10 residents per year, with residency being a four-year process. By the fourth year of the program, there are expected to be 40 residents in training for mental health and addiction.

In addition to MUSC Health Orangeburg, other partners in the program will include HopeHealth, Orangeburg County, the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, the S.C. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services and all 31 alcohol and drug commissions throughout the state.

Physicians and psychiatrists will serve as faculty and attending physicians.

Programmatic funding will come from the S.C. Department of Health and Health Services and grant funds.

Dennis said the commission is seeking other funding sources, including federal funds, for the program.

Citing the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which tracks health care access, there is one psychiatrist for every 7,280 individuals in Calhoun County; one for every 2,320 individuals in Bamberg County and one for every 590 in Orangeburg County.

Dennis said the statistics show there needs to be a ratio of 300 individuals per one counselor.

“Untreated behavioral health issues affect all sectors of a community from workforce productivity issues, school performance and safety, social services, crime and family well-being,” Dennis said. “Research also shows untreated behavioral health issues have a tremendous impact on an individual’s physical health, which increases the cost of treating their physical health issues and creates a burden on hospital emergency rooms.”

Mental Health America reports that South Carolina ranks 43rd in the nation in access to mental health services.

Dennis said mental health centers – including Orangeburg Area Mental Health – have a shortage of psychiatrists and wait times to see a psychiatrist through a state Department of Mental Health center can be up to three months.

The residency program would include both pediatric and adult training.

Dennis said the commission is envisioning eventually having a program to provide training for social workers and clinicians that could partner with South Carolina State University and Claflin to help with internships.

Established in 1973, the Tri-County Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse provides prevention, intervention and treatment services to adolescents and adults affected by alcohol, tobacco and other drug use as well as mental health issues.