Meet two of our leaders

Elizabeth Tyson, MD

Born in Florence, South Carolina, where her extended family still lives, Dr. Tyson is the vice chair of Inpatient Quality and Medical Staff Affairs for Prisma Health Pediatrics in the Upstate.

She attended medical school at Medical University of South Carolina from 1995–99. She went on to complete her Pediatric residency at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, serving as chief resident from 2002–03.

Dr. Tyson then joined the faculty at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City as a pediatric hospitalist. In 2007, she and husband Adam, an obstetrician, moved to Greenville, where she joined the academic pediatric faculty at Greenville Hospital System (which has evolved into being part of Prisma Health).

Clinical duties included attending on the inpatient ward and staffing resident clinics at the organization’s Center for Pediatric Medicine. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Tyson became the medical director of Inpatient Pediatrics, a post she held until July 2022 when she transitioned into her current role.

Professional interests and foci include quality and safety of care in the inpatient setting, care transitions from inpatient to outpatient, hospital surge and patient flow logistics, and acute care of the child with medical complexity. She is also a member of the Steering Committee for S.C. Health Professionals for Climate Action, a group of health providers from across the state who advocate for climate and environmental justice and educate on the health impacts of climate change.

The Tysons have two school-age children, two dogs, two cats and several fish tanks. They enjoy doing anything outdoors, especially as a family.

Melanie Blackburn,

Md

Born in Dallas, Texas, Dr. Blackburn moved to Seneca just before starting high school and had her first clinical experience at Oconee Memorial Hospital. She went on to attend Furman University in Greenville.

In 2001, she began medical school at the University of South Carolina (USC) School of Medicine in Columbia. After graduation, she completed her Pediatric residency at Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital in Columbia where she was chief resident during her third year and completed a fourth year Grace Steell Hawes’ Fellowship.

She then joined The Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg as a community pediatric hospitalist where she served for almost five years and engaged in her first experience with quality and patient safety work. She joined the USC Department of Pediatrics in 2013 and is an associate professor of Clinical Pediatrics. Duties include attending on the inpatient ward teaching medical students, pharmacy students and residents how to deliver evidence-based pediatric care.

In 2015, Dr. Blackburn became the director of Quality for Prisma Health Children’s Hospital–Midlands and most recently became the quality officer for the Children’s Clinical Specialty Council, part of Prisma Health’s Clinical Advancement Program. As someone who enjoys engaging learners in quality work early in their career, she mentors QUEST students through the USC School of Medicine and helps teach the M1 Change Management course. Now in her second year of the MHA program through the USC Arnold School of Public Health, she plans to use this degree to keep improving patient care.

Dr. Blackburn and her husband have four children and enjoy serving their community and church as a family. You will soon find them cheering on the Anderson University Trojans as their twin daughters will be attending the university this fall.