Air Force Surgeon General Visits and Praises CareSouth Carolina 

The Air Force Medical Services of the United States is part of a Military Health System that is second to none in the world.   It has earned more than a stellar reputation for transforming the way health services are provided on and off the battlefield.

So, when the Surgeon General of the Air Force decides he wants to visit CareSouth Carolina in Hartsville to learn how they have been so effective, staff at the local community health center were a bit shocked.

“Sure, over the past decade, we have earned a national reputation for providing quality patient-centered care – for being innovative and doing everything in our power to ensure the best for everyone in rural communities here in the Pee Dee,” said Ann Lewis, CEO at CareSouth Carolina.   “But, when you receive an e-mail requesting a visit from the senior-most medical services officer in the U.S. Air Force -  it sort of blows your socks off.  We are truly honored.”

Surgeon General Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Charles B. Green brought a team to Hartsville to hear presentations by CareSouth management staff, ask questions and tour the facility.  Included in the team was Ray S. Jeter, Colonel, USAF, DC Chief, Air Force Medical Services Innovations; Lt. Col. Mickey T. Goodridge, Traveling Executive Officer, AF Surgeon General ; and was escorted from Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter by Ahmed Calvo, M.D., MPH, senior medical officer at the Health Resource Service Administration’s Office of Health Information Technology and Quality.   

“I was so impressed with you and your team,” said Surgeon General Green about the visit with CareSouth Carolina staff.   “I have been talking about what you shared non-stop with my entire team.   I only hope I can do a little of what you have so aptly demonstrated can be done when the focus is on the patient and the community.   Bravo!!”  

General Green presented Ann Lewis with the Air Force Surgeon General Coin, a tradition honoring excellence in the provision of medical care.    

“It was an absolute pleasure to have the opportunity to meet and share with Dr. Green and his team the attributes that make us and all community health centers special,” said Lewis “The opportunity to have open dialogue was a privilege.  It was a lot of fun!”

Last year, CareSouth Carolina was honored to be one of only three community health centers in the nation to present its story of quality improvement to an audience of national policy makers in Washington, DC.   Over the years, its achievements in quality and cost efficiency have been published and highlighted in numerous national medical journals and other publications.     

CareSouth Carolina is a private, non-profit community health center delivering patient-centered health care services to people in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina.    CareSouth Carolina started out in 1980 as a small community health center with four employees in Society Hill.  It has grown to become a regional health and community care system headquartered in Hartsville with ten primary care sites, over 300 employees and recognized as a national model of success in the delivery of health and community services.