South Carolina residents had high rates of Sexual Transmitted Diseases (STD), long wait-times in the clinic, and a lack of nursing staff to meet the demand for services. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control staff decided that there had to be a better way to improve access to testing for their clients so they participated in a quality improvement (QI) training with PHF expert Grace Duffy. Using (QI) tools and techniques, SC was able to create a new 15 minute service delivery model in which a patient could simply be tested for STDs. This meant that clinics could serve more people with the same amount of resources. Following initial success in three clinics, the program was implemented in STD clinics across the state. 
 

Watch the video below to learn how QI made SC clinics more effective and efficient. Also view the video about how this project led to a department-wide QI culture.