This month, IMPH celebrates our 15 year anniversary!🎉 Since 2011, IMPH has served as SC’s trusted evidence-based health policy resource. Grateful to our partners, funders, and board for powering this work. Here’s to the next 15. Thank you for being part of the journey!

Our Director of Policy & Strategic Initiatives, Taryn Farrell, presented joint research on food hardship in rural South Carolina at the 2026 Annual Rural Health Conference in Spartanburg on behalf of the USC Rural Health Research Center. Maya Pack, IMPH Executive Director, was also there to learn what’s happening in rural communities across the state. Curious how food systems shape health across our state? Explore IMPH’s Food System Policy Toolkit: imph.org/new-scroadmap-toolk…

Good ideas travel across state lines. Natalie Hirsch, IMPH Project & Communications Coordinator, recently attended the @NCIOM Annual Meeting in Raleigh to discuss AI, telehealth, workforce, and care access.

Yair Centeno, IMPH Senior Director of Operations, spent October’s Class Day with his Leadership Columbia classmates learning about the military’s local impact at Camp McCrady, McEntire Joint National Guard Base, and Fort Jackson. The class even took on Victory Tower!

Leadership is learned inside and outside of the classroom. Maya Pack, IMPH Executive Director, attended the second session of South Carolina for three days in the Lowcountry, exploring workforce training, ports, marshes, and energy infrastructure.

Our stories strengthen community awareness. Taryn Farrell and Natalie Hirsch spent a morning last week with survivors, health leaders, and legislators at @Acscansc Ann Riley Pink Tea. Thank you for bringing so many voices together!

Join us in congratulating Taryn Farrell, MPH, on her promotion to Director of Policy & Strategic Initiatives at IMPH! Building on her work convening partners, conducting research and policy analysis, and writing reports, Taryn will now lead an expanded evaluation strategy that measures impact across all of IMPH’s policy-informing work and shapes our development efforts. We are grateful for the many talents she brings to our team!

Sharing a room with people who bring different perspectives fosters collaboration and leadership. Our Executive Director, Maya Pack, is part of this year’s Leadership SC class, which recently gathered at the SC State Museum, the McGrady Training Base (pictured), and Finlay Park – The Nest. Connecting with classmates and leaders like Karla Buru (SC DPH) and Melinda Merrell (Sisters of Charity Foundation).

Direct care workers are the backbone of home care, and keeping them is a growing challenge in South Carolina. Recent commentary from @postandcourier highlights our state’s home care workforce shortage. Our 2022 report explores these challenges and compiles recommendations for recruiting and retaining the direct care workforce. Read the commentary: postandcourier.com/opinion/c… Read IMPH's report: imph.org/wp-content/uploads/…

Taryn Farrell, our Research and Policy Manager, presented on the “State of Public Health in South Carolina” at the USC Joseph F. Rice School of Law’s Access to Health and Legal Justice Conference — a cross-sector gathering to improve accessibility of care. We’re proud to see our team contribute to these important conversations.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Early detection saves lives — talk to your doctor about screening and encourage others to do the same.

This week, our Executive Director, Maya Pack, and Research & Policy Manager, Taryn Farrell, attended NASHP's 39th Annual State Health Policy Conference in NYC – connecting with state health policy leaders from across the country to discuss issues such as Medicaid, healthcare costs, and behavioral health.

Please join us in thanking Amelia for her time as IMPH's Director of Legislative Engagement. Her energy, expertise, and commitment to our mission strengthened our work and our relationships across the state. We are so grateful for all she did for the Institute, and we can't wait to see what she accomplishes next!

September 29th is World Heart Day! Monitor your blood pressure, stay active, eat well, and pay attention to symptoms that seem out of the ordinary. Small steps can make a big difference in heart health.

Only 32% of the food South Carolinians buy is processed in our state, this gap represents an opportunity for local farmers, businesses, and communities. Our Research & Policy Manager, Taryn Farrell, recently presented IMPH's Food Systems Policy Toolkit to Live Healthy Richland, continuing to share this resource with organizations across SC. Read the Food Systems Policy Toolkit here: imph.org/new-scroadmap-toolk…

IMPH team members Taryn Farrell and Yair Centeno recently attended United for Every Child, a statewide conference on advancing evidence-based practices that support the healthy development of every young child in South Carolina. This relates to our Foundations for Success Taskforce that is developing strategies to reduce exclusionary discipline of early learners: imph.org/taskforces/foundati…

New national data from the State Marketplace Network: Marketplace enrollment has dropped 8.5% since 2025, driven by rising costs and the loss of enhanced premium tax credits. Our 2025 report, Consequences of Ending Affordable Care Act Enhanced Premium Tax Credits in South Carolina, breaks down what this could mean for South Carolina: imph.org/imph-releases-repor… Read the State Marketplace Network analysis here: us.list-manage.com/CmdlTLSr5…

September is National Recovery Month, founded by @samhsagov. Recovery doesn't happen without strategic investments. Revisit IMPH's 2022 guide on how SC communities can invest opioid settlement funds in prevention, treatment, and recovery support: imph.org/press-release-imph-…