COLUMBIA, SC (WBTV) – Starting Monday, July 1, a new agency will oversee public health services throughout South Carolina.

On the same date, the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) will cease to exist and be replaced by two new state agencies.

One of these new agencies is now responsible for public health and the other for environmental services. The change came after Governor Henry McMaster signed a law to that effect last year.

According to Dr. Edward Simmer, interim director of the new Ministry of HealthServices such as obtaining birth certificates and vaccination certificates will essentially follow the same processes as before.

The office's phone number will remain the same, and when people try to visit the DHEC website, they will automatically be directed to the Department of Health's new page.

Dr. Simmer said the reorganization gives health officials an opportunity to reevaluate and improve the way the department serves South Carolina residents. He said that includes putting more resources into outreach and community engagement.

“The people who use our health departments and receive services from our health departments will continue to receive the same services in the same place and from the same people they have trusted and known,” he said. “In terms of overall health, we rank 45th out of the 50 states, and that's terrible. We need to try much harder.”

There could be more restructuring of South Carolina's state agencies in the future. A bill to consolidate six agencies into a single one narrowly failed to pass the governor's office earlier this year, but supporters have promised to revive the effort next year.

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