WISEWOMAN: Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation
Who We Are: Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN), is a new service in South Carolina. It provides health screenings and lifestyle education for women to help reduce their risk for heart disease and stroke. The goal of WISEWOMAN is to provide low-income, under- or uninsured 40- to 64-year-old women with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to improve diet, physical activity, and other lifestyle behaviors to prevent, delay and control cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. Click here for statistics on the problem of heart disease and stroke in South Carolina.
The WISEWOMAN program is administered through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention. South Carolina is one of only 21 WISEWOMAN programs funded by the CDC. South Carolina was first awarded funding in 2008. For more information please visit CDC's WISEWOMAN website.
What We Do:
- WISEWOMAN programs provide standard preventive services including blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes testing and referral to lifestyle education programs.
- WISEWOMAN provides screenings at no cost to participants who meet the eligibility guidelines. Screenings measure blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, body weight, and waist size. Medical referral and follow-up are provided as appropriate.
- WISEWOMAN lifestyle education uses group sessions and one-on-one sessions to help participants address factors that increase risk for heart attack or stroke like poor nutrition, lack of physical activity and smoking.
To qualify for WISEWOMAN services a woman must:
- Receive breast and cervical cancer screening services from the Best Chance Network (BCN), S.C. Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (SCBCCEDP).
- Be 47-64 years old.
- Be uninsured (no health insurance) or under insured (have hospital coverage only).
How Do We Do This: WISEWOMAN, like BCN, is a network of public and private partnerships that includes federally funded primary care centers in the SC Primary Health Care Association, laboratories, DHEC region staff and community partners who assist in referring women to screening sites.
DHEC oversees WISEWOMAN administration and management, contractual agreements for screening and follow-up services, case management, quality assurance, tracking, surveillance, and program evaluation. The American Cancer Society (ACS), South-Atlantic Division, works with DHEC to provide the coordination of WISEWOMAN services with providers, including professional education, and outreach and recruitment of eligible women into the program.
- Click here to access contract information (information to come)
- Click here to access WISEWOMAN Clinical Protocols (information to come)
County Contact Information
The program is currently available in two regions of the state. The program will be made available in other areas of the state so please check again for additional regional contact information.
REGION 4
Valencia S. Thomas
(843) 673-6530 office
E-mail: thomasvs@dhec.sc.gov
REGION 6
Regina Nesmith
(843) 355-6012
E-mail: nesmitr@dhec.sc.gov
For additional information please contact:
Yaw Boateng, MS, MPH, RD, LD, CDE
SC WISEWOMAN Program Coordinator
(803) 934-2902
E-mail: boateny@dhec.sc.gov
Division of Cancer Prevention & Control
Bureau of Community Health and Chronic Disease Prevention
105 N. Magnolia Street
Sumter, SC 29150