ST MATTHEWS, S.C. — In Orangeburg and Calhoun counties, residents say access to healthcare has been a big problem for years.
The Regional Medical Center, that serves four rural counties in the area hosted a town hall meeting Wednesday to address community concerns about healthcare disparities.
Keisha Watson has lived in Calhoun for 40 years and says finding a place to get medical care has always been difficult.
“A lot of people don't have transportation so they're depending upon EMS to pick them up," Watson explained. "Sometimes they are stressed depending on the nature of someone's health condition and how far away they are."
At the last town hall meeting in June, the hospital encouraged people not to go to the Emergency Room, explaining that a large chunk of patients that come in, see them for routine medical care and not actual emergencies.
The hospital asked people in the community go to Express Care or see a town Clinic, like Santee Care. However, News 19 discovered that Express care and the Santee Clinic were each closed for more than a week in August, and several days in July as well.
Sabrina Robinson, the CEO of Operations for RMC explained that the closures are due to staffing shortages.
“We've lost some providers in those locations, but now we're still looking for a provider in our Santee location, but at Express Care we just hired our full-time," Robinson stated.
The hospital says if care is needed on a day that the recommended clinics are closed, patients should either use the hospitals telehealth system or find a Primary Care Physician outside of RMC to see them.
RMC hopes that these will not be the only care options for long. CEO David Southerland says that a partnership with MUSC will hopefully farm a chance for their more rural patients.
“We hope the program will help add more nurses and people to help provide care to these communities that so desperately need it,” said Southerland.
The partnership still has to be approved by both Calhoun and Orangeburg County before anything can happen.
There will be more community discussions before approval as well, with another Town Hall on September 8.