Who This Page Is For
This page is for emergency managers, shelter and housing staff, discharge planners, and senior services and home health staff who help adults plan for hurricane season and summer heat, and who sometimes need to connect a person with care afterward.
You do not need to choose a practice; we route each referral to the right one.
Before a Storm
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises putting together an emergency kit ahead of time, because a hurricane can cut power and water and close roads. Its list includes water, food, a supply of medicines, flashlights with spare batteries, and important papers such as identification and medical documents.
CDC also advises following official evacuation orders, taking only essentials such as a phone, chargers, medicines, identification and cash, and never driving through flooded areas. An older or disabled person who may not be able to leave quickly should get advice well before a storm.
In the Heat
CDC names adults 65 and older, people with chronic conditions such as asthma and heart disease, pregnant women, young children and people working outdoors among those at higher risk from heat, and notes that many medicines can make dehydration or overheating more likely.
Signs that the body is overheating include muscle cramps, unusually heavy sweating, dizziness, headache, weakness and nausea. CDC suggests shade and breaks, water throughout the day, air conditioning or a cooling center (dialing 2-1-1 can help find one), checking on neighbors, and not stopping or changing a medicine without talking to a doctor.
After the Event
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) explains that fear, sadness, anger and poor sleep are common after a frightening event, and that for most people these reactions ease with time. NIMH suggests professional help when reactions do not improve or begin to get in the way of daily life.
Care Through Hope Health Network
Hope Medical Associates provides primary care, including care for diabetes, hypertension and COPD, the Medicare yearly wellness visit, and help establishing a primary care provider after a hospital stay.
Hope Behavioral Medicine provides psychiatric medication management and counseling for adults with anxiety, depression, ADHD, insomnia, PTSD, OCD, bipolar disorder and postpartum depression, in person in West Ashley and by video.
Hope Addiction Medicine provides medication-assisted treatment for opioid and alcohol use disorders. Treatment typically begins with an in-person assessment, followed by weekly in-person or virtual visits before moving to a monthly schedule, and each plan is tailored to the patient.
Hope Integrative Medicine offers primary care, mental health and addiction medicine with one coordinating team, for patients who want all their care coordinated.
Mental health care is available by video anywhere in South Carolina. Lab tests can be done at a lab of the patient's choice.
How to Refer
Call and ask for referral intake, fax referral documentation, or use the online form on our referral page. The form gathers contact and routing details only, so send clinical notes by fax.
We typically contact the patient within two business days of a faxed referral, and initial evaluations are often able to be scheduled within a week of the request. If the patient needs to be seen sooner, call us.
Our practices accept Medicare, most major commercial plans, and all South Carolina Medicaid managed care plans except Select Health (First Choice). Self-pay rates are also available.
In a Crisis
Our practices are not an emergency service, and the referral form is not monitored for emergencies. For someone in crisis, call or text 988, and in immediate danger, call 911.