Allison Bellomo, MS, CGC ('09) started efforts towards state licensure for genetic counselors in SC in 2012 with a fellow USC SOMC alumna, Kellie King Walden ('09). Throughout those 12 years, which included three maternity leaves and the Covid-19 pandemic, she continued to organize meetings with SC Genetic Counselors and leaders in state government to gauge their support and discuss supporting licensure legislation.
Licensure means that the state defines, by statute, the tasks and function or scope of practice of a profession and provides that these tasks may be legally performed only by those who are licensed. Licensure will protect the public from receiving genetic services that are unnecessary, inaccurate, and or inappropriate. Genetics is an ever-growing field in the delivery of medicine. Misinterpretation of test results or not performing the correct test can lead to life altering misinformation, misdiagnosis, inappropriate treatment, and family decisions based on erroneous information. Licensure will ensure that only those qualified, based on training and ongoing education, can present themselves to the public as genetic counselors and perform the services of a genetic counselor.
On May 21, 2024, Bill S241 was officially passed and signed into law by Govenor Henry McMaster. Bellomo says, "This was not an individual effort, as many genetic counselors associated with the USC SOMC Genetic Counseling Program and other institutions participated in reaching out to their state representatives and senators, and attended House and Senate hearings in Columbia over the past several years." Janice Edwards, Steve Skinner, Libby Malphrus, and Kim Foil testified alongside Bellomo in House and Senate hearings. Together, they received tremendous help from the medical community that works with genetic counselors to provide services to patients, including physicians and directors at Greenwood Genetic Center, Prisma Health, MUSC, and the National Society of Genetic Counselors. South Carolina became the 36th state to license genetic counselors. The first state was Utah in 2002.
Bellomo says, "I am thankful for the USC SOM Genetic Counseling Program for first educating me about licensure in the field of genetic counseling, and for my then program director, Janice Edwards, for assigning me the project of licensure in graduate school. It first instilled my passion for advancing the profession and insuring integrity in the field of genetics for the benefit of patients and providers. So far, that same passion remains."
