Dr. Rick Foster serves as a senior physician advisor to SC DHEC in the areas of population and community health improvement. He also serves as a consultant to SC DHHS in the areas of birth equity and rural maternal/child health improvement, and as a physician advisor to Help Me Grow SC. He previously served as the Executive Director of the Alliance for a Healthier South Carolina and as Senior Advisor to the SC Hospital Association in the area of Population Health Improvement. Dr. Foster served in a senior executive role with SCHA between 2007 and 2019, initially serving as Senior VP for Quality and Patient Safety. Prior to joining SCHA, Rick served as chief medical officer for Trident Health System in Charleston, S.C.
His primary responsibilities at SC DHEC include leading the work of the SC Pandemic Ethics Advisory Council and the SC COVID Clinical Treatment Advisory Team. He also works with the COVID vaccine advisory committee, and provides consultation to the population health analytics and community health improvement teams at DHEC.
Dr. Foster received his Undergraduate Bachelor of Science Degree from Clemson University and his Medical Degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. He completed his residency in Family Medicine at Self Regional Healthcare in Greenwood, SC, and was in the private practice of Family Medicine in Surfside Beach and Charleston prior to serving as Chief Medical Officer at Companion Healthcare and then at Trident Health.
Dr. Foster presently serves on the Boards of Palmetto Care Connections, PASOs, the SC Translational Research Center, the Carolinas Center for Palliative and Hospice Care, and Fetter Health. He also serves on the Advisory Council for the SC Telehealth Alliance, the SC Birth Defects Prevention program and the Institute for Health Care Improvement’s Maternal Health program