The College of Social Work (COSW) began work on the initiative in June of 2017. As part of ICARED, our project team has sought out to train social work students for rural practice as well as to improve the retention of behavioral health practitioners in rural South Carolina. To further the training and education of our social work students, the ICARED team has developed a series of course modules for social work classes that focus on rural health practice issues and skills. The modules consist of materials from the South Carolina Office of Rural Health, best practice information about rural health service delivery and interprofessional teamwork, and case studies about interprofessional rural health care. The modules have been developed for asynchronous online delivery to students, so they can be refined and delivered beyond the life of this project at the COSW as well as be submitted to the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education and Council of Social Work Education for national dissemination. In 2017-18 the course modules on rural health will be used in the COSW seminar class on integrated healthcare (Fall & Spring) and in the new interprofessional course on tele-mental health in rural areas (Spring). In addition, the COSW has placed over twenty social work students in rural health field placement internships to receive in-vivo immersion training on rural health. 

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To achieve our aim to improve the retention of behavioral health practitioners in rural South Carolina areas, the ICARED Team has partnered with the South Carolina Area Health Consortium (AHEC).  Through our partnership we have scheduled and will be providing in-person trainings in seven rural areas throughout South Carolina that can reach seventeen of the state's Disease Hotspot Counties: 

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• Greenville/Anderson

• Abbeville/Greenwood

• Orangeburg/Bamberg/Barnwell

• Charleston/Dorchester/Colleton

• Horry/Marion

• Florence/Lee/Darlington

• Richland/Lexington

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The trainings include content on best practices related to rural interprofessional health services, improving retention of health professionals in rural areas, and capacity-building strategies to enhance retention efforts and promote resource acquisition within these areas. 

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The ICARED team have also sought out to develop interprofessional health practice, workforce retention & capacity building briefs, webinar trainings, and this website for current students, graduates and community professionals in rural areas.