CareSouth Carolina's Community Partner Wins 2023 Director's Award

June 6th 2023

CareSouth Carolina extends warm congratulations to its community partner, the Pee Dee Public Health Region for receiving the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control (SC-DHEC) prestigious 2023 DHEC Directors Award.

The award was given to the Pee Dee Public Health Region for their remarkable commitment to service, innovation, teamwork, excellence, and equity. 

“Working together with DHEC staff from the local, regional and state offices, on this innovation has been exciting and rewarding,CareSouth Carolina CEO Ann Lewis said. “Great relationships are the bedrock of successful improvement and this Dillon County innovation will make a significant difference in health care access for Dillon county residents.”

 

Back in 2016, the leaders of the Dillon County Health Department and CareSouth Carolina realized that their facility, originally constructed in the 1940s, no longer met the needs of either organization or the people of Dillon County. Determined to make a significant impact, the Pee Dee Dillon Project Team and CareSouth Carolina joined forces, envisioning a new joint location that would offer unprecedented healthcare access to the residents of Dillon County.

Over the course of the following seven years, this pioneering collaboration between a state agency and a Federally Qualified Health Center, a first in South Carolina, resulted in a series of resounding successes. Their achievements encompassed securing substantial public and private funding, meticulous planning, designing, and executing a cutting-edge healthcare facility. This remarkable establishment now stands as a testament to both innovation and service, elevating the scope of traditional public health offerings. Notably, it provides accessible and convenient primary care, dental and behavioral health services, pharmacy facilities, and health education programs in one of the most rural areas of our state.

In May 2022, through unwavering teamwork, CareSouth Carolina and SC-DHEC proudly inaugurated the new facility, situated at 1016 Old Latta Hwy. in Dillon, S.C. This state-of-the-art location superseded the previous sites of both CareSouth Carolina (207 E. Monroe Street) and SC-DHEC (Dillon County Health Department, 201 W. Hampton St.). This collaboration enables both organizations to offer more convenient and accessible services to the residents of Dillon County.

Jim Bruckner, DHEC's public health director for the Pee Dee, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, "This partnership presents an excellent opportunity for collaboration, and we couldn't have better partners than CareSouth Carolina and Dillon County Government. By co-locating DHEC and CareSouth Carolina services, we expand access to comprehensive healthcare services, making them more convenient and accessible to Dillon County residents."

Bruckner added, "In this partnership, CareSouth Carolina will assume some of the direct clinical services currently provided by DHEC. DHEC will continue to serve WIC clients and focus on core public health services, such as community epidemiology, tuberculosis surveillance and treatment, compliance work, newborn home visits, community health promotion and education efforts, as well as collaboration with the community on Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Planning. DHEC's ultimate goal is to cultivate a healthy and thriving community in Dillon County."

CareSouth Carolina will now incorporate various preventative health services previously offered by DHEC, including family planning, STD/STI, HIV, and immunizations. Moreover, CareSouth Carolina will continue providing all the services currently available at its medical office.

CEO Ann Lewis described the building as an "innovation one-stop shop," emphasizing the successful collaboration between DHEC, CareSouth Carolina, and Dillon County. She stated, "This innovative facility brings together partners who have worked harmoniously for a considerable length of time to turn the vision of this new building and combined services into a reality. With DHEC providing WIC services alongside the expansion of CareSouth's family planning and immunization services, residents of Dillon County will benefit from convenient access to a wide array of care and services, all housed under one roof.”

CareSouth Carolina is a private, non-profit community health center delivering patient-centered health and life services in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina. CareSouth Carolina operates centers in Bennettsville, Bishopville, Cheraw, Chesterfield, Dillon, Hartsville, Lake View, Latta, McColl, and Society Hill.

Services provided by CareSouth Carolina include family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, women's services, OB/GYN, HIV/AIDS primary care, infectious disease primary care, IV therapy, substance abuse prevention, dental, chiropractic services, pharmacy, senior support services, family support services, clinical counseling, laboratory, ultrasound, X-Ray, agricultural worker health services, and veterans choice provider. 

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