S.C. health and human services director tours MinuteClinic location

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A MinuteClinic location at a CVS store in downtown Columbia, S.C., got a visit from one of the state's top health officials recently.

South Carolina state Department of Health and Human Services director Tony Keck got a tour of the clinic from Andrew Sussman, president of MinuteClinic and SVP and associate chief medical officer of CVS Caremark. Keck helped initiate a plan to include MinuteClinic as a provider of care in order to increase access for Medicaid recipients and to make South Carolina a model in retail health; MinuteClinic accepts all South Carolina Medicaid plans.

"While we urge beneficiaries to call or visit their primary care physician first, we understand that for many of our working parents, minor medical treatment may be necessary to access when these offices are closed," Keck said. "Expanding Medicaid coverage to CVS MinuteClinic adds accessibility and flexibility for our beneficiaries to receive immediate medical treatment, thereby strengthening our commitment to delivering increasingly high-quality care for our citizens."

MinuteClinic's first Columbia location opened in 2008, and the company has since expanded to include clinics in the Greenville-Spartanburg, Charleston and Myrtle Beach areas of the state.

Are you a nurse practitioner or physician's assistant? Join our Facebook group to get all the latest news dedicated to delivering healthcare services to patients in retail pharmacy clinics.