Leadership profile

Kerry Sease, MD, MPH

Dr. Sease is Medical Director of Accountable Communities and Medical Director of the Bradshaw Institute for Community Child Health & Advocacy, both part of Prisma Health. A general pediatrician who trained at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital in the Upstate, she completed a fellowship in Community and Academic Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and earned her master’s degree at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health.

Dr. Sease then returned to Greenville, serving as Program Director for the Pediatric Residency for 10 years at Children’s Hospital. She became the Bradshaw Institute’s medical director in 2015 and was instrumental in initiating school-based health programs across the Upstate. Her expertise in community health needs and innovative programs led to the incorporation of the Bradshaw Institute in the Accountable Communities program, expanding Dr. Sease’s role of that department. This year, she has also been instrumental in developing a mobile strategy for COVID-19 vaccine distribution, targeting underserved areas of the Midlands and Upstate.

Her role in Accountable Communities allows her to work in the Midlands to expand school-based health, enhance community COVID-19 vaccine outreach, participate in focus groups around vaccine hesitancy and collaborate with the Midlands community to evaluate opportunities such as PASOs expansion. (PASOs, which means “steps” in Spanish, helps strengthen Latino communities in South Carolina through education, advocacy and leadership development.)

Dr. Sease is also the state’s leader for the Carolinas Collaborative, a network of advocates from all eight pediatric academic institutions across North and South Carolina. The collaborative’s mission – to promote the well-being of children – is focusing on food insecurity.

She, her spouse and their two teens enjoy serving the community through Interfaith Hospitality Network, which allows families with children to stay together as they confront homelessness. Brenda Rankin, MHA, BSN, RN

Brenda Rankin is Director of the Prisma Health Children’s Service Line. In 1989, Rankin graduated from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and began her nursing career working in the pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital. Her husband was active duty military; in her travels with him, she worked as a nurse in Virginia and New Jersey before settling in South Carolina in 1995.

In January 1996, she accepted a position in the ICU at Children’s Hospital in the Midlands. At that time, Children’s Hospital was located on the ninth floor of the main hospital on Richland campus.

She was promoted to Assistant Nurse Manager in July 1998. In May 2002, Rankin transitioned to the role of Case Manager for Children’s Hospital. She returned to the pediatric ICU in August of that year as Nurse Manager.

In April 2008, she became Director of Nursing for Children’s Hospital and helped move the hospital into its current site on Richland campus in June. Rankin served as the Director of Nursing there for 11 years.

In March 2019, she became Director of the Children’s Service Line. Her responsibilities include working with other leaders to develop strategic initiatives that create an exceptional consumer experience, reduce per-capital costs, improve clinical outcomes and the health status of children, and support team member well-being.

In her free time, she enjoys gardening and spending time with family. The Rankins have two daughters and two grandsons. Their family also includes a dog and three cats.