Columbia organization turns to tech to tackle health, social needs.

• Position: Lexington Medical Center

A major Midlands health care provider has formed a tech-based partnership that will help address unmet health and social needs of the people it serves.

In April, Lexington Medical Center announced it was linking up with Unite Us, a New York-based software company that sets up coordinated care networks between health and social services providers.

Founded in 2013 by Dan Brillman and Taylor Justice, the company was originally launched to address the needs of veterans as they transitioned back into civilian life, and their families. Over the next decade, it expanded its reach to serve people across all walks of life who need connections to care.

According to recent data on the company's website, Unite Us now has a presence in 44 states and has provided more than 21 million connections to care over the past decade.

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Partners in the company's South Carolina network, known as Unite South Carolina, are connected through Unite Us' shared technology platform, which enables them to securely send and receive electronic referrals to address people's social needs.

"We are excited to implement this tool with our community partners across the Midlands," said Lara Lott Moore, Lexington Medical Center's vice president of community medical centers. "It helps us advance our vision to be a coordinated health care delivery system that is accessible and affordable and continually improves the health status of our communities."

Partnership examines social determinants on health care

Lexington Medical Center is a 607-bed hospital in West Columbia. It anchors a health care network that includes five community medical centers and employs a staff of more than 7,800health care professionals.

The partnership is a result of studies in health care trends the provider conducted starting in late 2021, according to Thomas Tafel, Lexington Medical's community outreach manager.

One topic that stood out was the effect of social determinants on a person's overall health care. These include environmental factors, access to fresh and healthy food, access to transportation, housing and primary medical care.

"We know that often when people arrive at the hospital, their quality of health has often been decided before we even make it to the doors as the results of these social determinants," Tafel said.

Lexington...