www. Char l es tonPhys i c i ans . com | www.Hea l thL i nksChar l es ton . com | 15 When Dr. Brannon Traxler became the director of public health for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control in April 2021, there was no way for her to ease slowly into her new role. The pandemic was in full roar. Heroic, exhausted nurses were leaving the profession in record numbers, and, as Dr. Traxler knew well, before COVID-19, the country was already 100,000 nurses short. Great strides toward better health were unfolding, including DHEC’s national accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board, but South Carolina wasn’t faring as well as Dr. Traxler wanted it to with internal, statewide and national health and well-being assessments. In its third consecutive year of researching all 50 U.S. states to determine its annual Community Well-Being Index, digital health company Sharecare and the Boston University School of Public Health recently placed South Carolina at No. 40 – identical to its rating in 2020 but four notches down from 2019. LOVE FOR THE PEOPLE PROPELS DR. BRANNON TRAXLER Dr. Brannon Traxler By Lisa Moody Breslin
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