Long wait times at SC Department of Public Health leads to air conditioning issues

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – The Vital Records Office at the South Carolina Department of Public Health said the volume of customers in the office since DHEC was dissolved has put a strain on their air conditioning units.

Temperatures inside the office on Monday were as warm as 82 degrees. Staff said the minimum wait time to be seen was an hour on Tuesday.

“It’s just like a mad house in there. You know? It’s hot. You can’t find a place to sit,” said a woman, who asked to remain anonymous.

“It got so hot. I’m an asthmatic. I’m a 100% disabled veteran through the V.A.,” she continued.

“So I went, and asked the clerk about why it was so hot. She told me for two years she’s been trying to get the heating fixed.”

On July 1, South Carolina DHEC split into the Department of Public Health and the Department of Environmental Services.

DPH said the high volume of customers in the building at once is what put a strain on their air conditioning unit’s ability to cool the office fast enough.

“We are experiencing a surge in the volume of in-person requests for vital records at 2600 Bull Street, which is also affecting our air conditioner’s ability to adequately cool the area. We are working to improve the air conditioning output now to help keep our customers and staff cool,” the department said in a statement.

The woman we spoke with initially said security told her she couldn’t leave the office to cool off.

“The lobby was the only place that had cool air. He told me I either had to go back inside where I was in the vital records office, or go outside. And I refused to go outside because it was even hotter outside. Because I can’t be in high humidity with the problem with my asthma related to my disability,” she said.

“The solution was to tell me to go to my car and she took our number for the window. And she took our phone numbers and she said we will call you. Go sit out in your [car] with your air running if you have small children. Or if you don’t feel like you can sit in here. It’s too hot,” she added.

On Tuesday, a floor A/C unit was installed beside the reception desk temporarily fixing the issue.

A Tuesday evening response from DPH Media Relations responded to questions surrounding the possibility of understaffing within the agency and plans to fix the A/C said, “We routinely need more staff in Vital Records, so this is not a new issue or concern for us. When this occurs, we pull staff from the back to help customers upfront. In addition, we have expedited the job postings for this area.

“Regarding the air conditioning, it simply was not functioning well enough to keep everyone cool. While assessments and repairs are performed on the air conditioning system, two portable cooling units have been set up in the customer service areas, improving the temperature already, with more improvement expected tomorrow with additional temporary efforts.”

“In addition to cooler temperatures, we can also report the good news that our current wait times for in-person service have currently returned to their normal range although fluctuations can be expected as volume remains high.”

DPH encourages customers to bring exact payment (i.e., cash, check, money order) and completed forms to reduce in-person volume.

In addition, DPH says it takes longer to process amendments to vital records than to simply issue a record.

If a person does not have an immediate need for a vital record, other options are available including online, by phone at 1-877-284-1008, by mail, or by drop-off. You can learn more about these options online.

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