Some 60 original works of art, out of more than 200 potential entries, are on view at the Lander Fine Art Gallery for the student annual juried show.
Some 60 original works of art, out of more than 200 potential entries, are on view at the Lander Fine Art Gallery for the student annual juried show.
SANTASHA HIGHLEY
After years under state scrutiny, Greenwood County First Steps has officially cleared the state’s required steps to regain access to grant funding.
In a letter sent Wednesday, South Carolina First Steps Chief Partnership Officer Derek Cromwell wrote that GCFS diligently worked to meet requirements set forth in a May 2022 corrective action plan. The local partnership is no longer on corrective action status, meaning it’s eligible again for all grants offered by the state agency after years of being excluded from these funds.
“We’re ecstatic about that,” said Santasha Highley, GCFS executive director. “Now we’re getting ready to apply for additional grants and funds to continue expanding services.”
Highley said the news of Greenwood’s eligibility for funds was followed shortly by an announcement they’ve been awarded a $90,000 grant to expand services. The state First Steps agency approved the grant to help start a program to educate teen parents. Now, the agency is looking to apply for additional funds, while they work to complete a needs and resources assessment of the community.
“After that, we’ll be doing our strategic plan for the next three years,” Highley said.
S.C. First Steps is a statewide school readiness program for families, providing competitive grants for nonprofit partnerships in each county that provide local parenting and child care programs. GCFS lost its state funding following a 2019 audit that raised concerns about a conflict of interest between the partnership and a nonprofit founded by its then-executive director, Michael Gaskin.
Gaskin was providing parenting classes through his own nonprofit for the Greenwood and Abbeville partnerships, serving as a part-time contractor for the Abbeville organization while serving as Greenwood’s executive director. In that time, state officials said he failed to submit time sheets documenting his work in Abbeville, and sheets provided by the ACFS executive director at the time overstated his hours.
Another report released months later said Gaskin had authorized an unnecessary lease buyout agreement between the Greenwood and Abbeville partnerships, which had both been located in the same building. It resulted in needlessly spending state funds, an Office of the Inspector General report said.
Gaskin resigned May 31, and the Abbeville executive director resigned shortly after. Highley was appointed interim executive director, and in October 2022 she was hired as the nonprofit’s official head.
Since then, ACFS moved into its own office space at the Abbeville County School District, ending its shared space with Greenwood. ACFS signed a new agreement with Michael Gaskin in 2021, but the agreement ended February 2022 as required by the state. Greenwood’s nonprofit had to get a salary analysis for the executive director’s position when hiring to fill the vacancy left after Gaskin resigned.
The Greenwood partnership implemented a new time sheet process, its board underwent conflict of interest training, and it worked to request $20,066 the state said they overpaid to Gaskin’s Social Change Initiative, although the final corrective action plan report published this week said the funds hadn’t been returned at the time of writing.
The only remaining step for the Greenwood partnership to do is to continue providing documentation of expenses for any matched funds, subject to review by the state before being approved. GCFS also has to receive an in-depth review of its financial and program audits for the next two years.
Throughout the nonprofit’s efforts to comply with the state’s requirements, members of the Greenwood County legislative delegation kept a close eye on the agency. Over the years, they appointed four members to the GCFS board and were in direct communication with state First Steps officials asking the agency to take “any necessary steps” to bring the partnership into compliance.
“I just want to thank especially the new members we put on that board and have taken that organization and remedied the issues identified by the state,” state Rep. John McCravy said.
Getting access to competitive grant funding will hopefully allow the organization to bolster its programs, which have continued to provide assistance to families amid the state’s scrutiny. Highley said she’s excited to keep this momentum and continue to grow the agency and its services.
Contact staff writer Damian Dominguez at 864-634-7548
Parents Brock and Liz Scott of Greenwood say the birth and death of their first son, Bryce, galvanized their Christian faith and their resolve to help others. They started an insurance brokerage, Community Care Insurance, to help people navigate health insurance and Medicare options.
Brock and Liz Scott pose for a family photo with their second son, Jayden, born in November 2021.
Brock Scott and Liz Araiza met in March 2019 while living and working in Houston, Texas.
They married Dec. 27 that year, and by the summer of 2020, the Scotts were expecting their first child.
At about the 19th week of that pregnancy, the couple learned the baby had a kidney condition it would not survive, multicystic kidney disease.
The couple moved to Greenwood about a year ago, following the roller coaster of emotions and complicated scenarios that unfolded.
An ultrasound scan, during a routine obstetrical appointment in the 19th week of Liz’s pregnancy, revealed low amniotic fluid in Liz’s uterus.
Subsequent medical evaluations in a hospital emergency room pointed to abnormal fetal kidney development. The one kidney seen in the scan did not appear to be functioning properly.
The multicystic kidney condition is typically diagnosed through an ultrasound at 18 to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
“All of this was during COVID lockdowns when I, only the patient, was allowed in the room with my doctor,” Liz recalls. “Brock couldn’t be there with me. I wasn’t scheduled for a scan, but I asked if they could do one, just so I could show a little picture to dad (Brock). The scan was started and I was told there was concern because I didn’t have a lot of amniotic fluid ... very little to none. I went to the ER next and Brock met me there.”
A maternal-fetal medicine specialist conducted another scan at the emergency room and told the couple, “I don’t know how else to say this, but I don’t want to give you any hope,” Brock said.
Liz said the doctor told them their baby would not survive his condition. The one kidney that could be seen in the scan was enlarged with cysts.
The couple also learned Bryce’s lungs would likely not be developed enough at birth for him to breathe.
“The maternal-fetal medicine specialists told us she could induce right then, or, I could have a very complicated pregnancy and wait for my body to give signs it was in labor,” Liz said. “At that point in my gestation, the doctor estimated I could go into labor at around the 25th week of pregnancy. He (Bryce) was growing and moving and I felt him move. We didn’t want to go ahead and have an induction. We just couldn’t.”
Family rallied, Liz said, noting even though members lived in different cities, they would connect through Zoom video conferencing and pray in the weeks that followed.
“This condition is believed to occur in one in 20,000 kids,” Brock said. “Interestingly enough, at our church in Houston (Woodland Church), our pastor’s son experienced the same issue with his son, Jude.”
Bryce was born Dec. 13, 2020, but did not survive. Liz and Brock were able to spend time with him in the hours following.
Liz said church was a safe place for her and Brock during the difficult days before and after Bryce’s birth.
“It was a place where we felt understood,” Liz said, noting the church later produced a moving video testimony by the Brocks, where they shared their story.
Counseling, through a private nonprofit, Be Not Afraid, helped the Scotts cope with the difficult pregnancy and loss. The organization aids families choosing to carry to term following prenatal diagnoses.
“Everyone comes up to you, they see her belly growing, and it’s, ‘Oh, congratulations!’” Brock said, noting not everyone knew of the diagnosis. Brock said the couple’s faith has grown in the face of tragedy and loss.
“My belly was big and Bryce was still growing,” Liz said. “My body went into natural labor at 36 weeks, which is unheard of with Bryce’s condition. ... He passed being born. We baptized him and we spent time with him.”
Liz said the experience prompted them to live each day to the fullest.
On the two-month anniversary of Bryce’s birth, the Scotts renewed their Christian faith by participating in an immersion baptism together at their former church in Houston.
“By sharing our story and the work we are doing now, to help others, we are honoring Bryce’s short life,” Liz said.
Brock and Liz are licensed agents with Community Care Insurance, helping people navigate health insurance and Medicare coverage options.
The Scotts welcomed their second child into the world in November 2021. Son Jayden is 15 months old and thriving.
Contact St. Claire Donaghy at 864-943-2518.
ABOVE: Couple’s own insurance woes inspired family in Greenwood to help others navigate health insurance and Medicare options. From left is Brock Scott; his infant son, Jayden; his wife, Liz Scott; and Brock’s father and Liz’s father-in-law, Don Scott. LEFT: Parents Brock and Liz Scott of Greenwood say the birth and death of their first son, Bryce, galvanized their Christian faith and their resolve to help others.
Then living in Houston, Brock and Liz Scott eagerly anticipated the birth of their first child, Bryce.
They received devastating news: Scans revealed the fetus had an enlarged kidney and there was very little to no amniotic fluid in Liz’s uterus to protect the fetus.
Causes of what was said to be multicystic kidney disease were not known, and the lack of amniotic fluid meant Bryce’s lungs would be underdeveloped and he was not expected to survive. When Bryce was born, he did not survive the kidney condition.
Meanwhile, Brock and Liz — who moved to Greenwood about a year ago — incurred what they described as “mountains of unneeded medical expenses.”
Brock said some of that was the result of misinformation about Liz’s benefits through her former employer’s health insurance plan and coordination with a health insurance company.
Between resigning from a teaching position with her former school district and accepting an administrative position in education with a different school district, health insurance benefits hit snags.
Helping others navigate insurance “My wife and I made it a mission to never let that happen to anyone,” said Brock, 37. “Thankfully, we have recovered financially, and we now operate Community Care Insurance, a brokerage, representing many health insurance companies.”
Brock and Liz are licensed agents with Community Care Insurance, along with Brock’s dad, Don Scott, who is also a board chairperson for Lander University.
They help clients find plans best for their needs. Brock and Liz help clients navigate Medicare Advantage, Medigap supplements, prescription drugs and insurance for vision, dental and life.
And they do it at no cost to their clients.
“It is free to have our help,” Brock explains. “We are paid by health insurance companies for each client we help, in choosing the best plan for individual needs for the current year...This year, we saved our clients more than $27,000 in total.”
This enterprise is very different from Brock and Liz’s previous career paths.
Brock, a Greenwood native who was a standout soccer player at Emerald High School, worked in animation/production and consulting.
Liz, who came from Monterrey, Mexico, was a bilingual teacher for 10 years in Houston. Leading up to Bryce’s birth, Liz was transitioning to a job in a different Texas school district.
After they learned they were expecting their first child in 2020, Brock and Liz thought she was medically insured through her current employer at the time, until coverage started with her new job.
“Liz had just gotten promoted and moved into an administrative job at a different school district from where she had been teaching fifth grade bilingual,” Brock said. “There was a 30-day waiting period until the insurance for the new job kicked in. She was supposed to be covered under her former plan for a while still, or we could put her on mine. She got an insurance card in the mail through her former employer and its health insurance company in the latter weeks of August then.”
Bills arrive and stack upIn November 2020, near the time Bryce was to be born, Brock and Liz learned that Liz didn’t have insurance coverage through her new district.
“Bills arrived and began stacking up,” Brock said. “Showing zero insurance coverage.”
The Scotts called Liz’s insurance company to ask if Liz was insured and the company indicated yes, she was.
The district’s benefits administrator figured a new card would not be mailed if a person were not eligible for coverage, Brock said.
“Turns out, Liz’s resignation was never submitted to insurance,” Brock said. “After everything, we just kind of focused on getting through and not letting our lives fall apart.”
Bryce was born in December 2020 but did not survive.
Medical bills started mounting in the summer months.
“It was tens and tens of thousands worth of stuff,” Brock recalls. “Not the kind of money most people have sitting around in a bank account. It was just enormous and the bills just kept coming.”
It wasn’t until November 2020 that the Brocks received any notification from Liz’s health insurer that she was not covered. The Brocks made a phone call to the insurer and learned coverage expired Aug. 31, months before.
“The insurance company blamed the school district for not sending my resignation letter,” said Liz, 38.
The couple says all parties involved did not coordinate benefits effectively.
“But we were ignorant of things we could have done, too,” Brock said. “We weren’t thinking about it because of just how devastated we were by the diagnosis we received in the weeks and months leading up to the birth of our first son.”
Know your coverageWhen it comes to helping others navigate insurance ins and outs, Brock says you should always get a copy of and thoroughly read and understand your policy’s evidence of coverage. It’s a multi-page document, listing coverage, deductibles and co-insurance.
“No one typically reads those things,” Brock said. “Now, I do, and I’m kind of annoying, to the point of how much I read legal documents. ... For example, many people don’t know that you have to get prior approval by your insurance, typically before moving into a place for physical rehabilitation after a surgery, and you have to have coordination of benefits from the hospital, your doctor and that facility. Or a health insurance company could deny you.”
Before getting into insurance brokerage, Brock did some marketing for an insurance company and talked with an uncle who worked in insurance. Those experiences planted seeds for Brock and Liz’s involvement with Community Care Insurance.
“We wanted to know how we could help people going through a crisis,” Brock said. “Then we decided to get into health insurance and Medicare to make sure people get good advice.”
Ted Colcolough said Brock and Community Care Insurance helped him navigate Medicare Part D insurance recently.
Part D is Medicare drug coverage and helps those eligible to enroll cover costs of prescription medications.
“I was at Wingard’s Pharmacy and was asking the owner, Greg Gurley, about what would be the best Medicare Part D for me,” Colcolough said. “Brock was there and I talked with him and scheduled a time for us to meet.”
Previously, Colcolough said he typically compared and contrasted Medicare Part D plans himself, looking them up online using a computer.
“There are a number of different companies that offer Part D coverage in South Carolina,” Colcolough said. “It was very helpful to have someone look at all the information and help me make the comparisons. It can save some time if you are eligible for Part D and use multiple prescriptions. I had to sign up with the plan I decided to go with for 2023 by Dec. 7. Part D is something you look at every year. There’s a co-pay and a monthly premium.”
Colcolough said Brock also evaluated his supplemental Medicare Insurance policy that “fills in the gaps” that might not be covered through original Medicare.
“We just decided to continue with the policy I already have for that,” Colcolough said.
Community Care Insurance will host information sessions at 6 p.m. on March 7 and 14 at Howard’s on Main. It’s geared toward people ages 64 and older.
Contact St. Claire Donaghy at 864-943-2518.
