Hospital to reopen obstetrics clinic

Jerry E. Halmon, Staff Reporter

After closing its obstetrics unit on December 31, 2009, the Bamberg County Memorial Hospital is planning to reopen an obstetrics clinic in the next few months, hospital principal administrator Carl Menist informed board members at their March meeting.

Menist reported Aiken SC. OB-GYN’s, Dr. Gasnel Bryan and Dr. Margo Hein-Muniz have been granted temporary privileges to staff the clinic which will be open three-days-per week. Each of the doctors will work one day per week with a nurse practioner working one day per week. Menist said it is his hope that the physicians will be approved at the hospital’s next medical staff meeting.

Menist informed Bamberg County Council members at their April 5th meeting the hospital is not in a position to perform deliveries at this time noting, “there is still some legwork that has to be done to get things organized so that it meets all of the requirements.

One of the requirements he noted is a physician would have to be able to get from their home base to the OR for emergency C-sections within 30 minutes.

“We wouldn’t meet that criteria just yet, but we are going to be able to do that.”

The hospital board of trustees approved a recommendation from the finance committee to spend up to $25,000 on staffing and furnishing the clinic, which will be housed in the former office of the Same Day Surgery Unit, adjacent to the operating room. Plans are for the clinic to be up and running in the next few months.

“We’ve gone from not having a clinic and not delivering- to having a clinic and delivering,” Menist said, adding “they (Dr. Bryan and Dr. Hein-Muniz) are willing to make this a really viable practice and recruit new patients. They are really excited.”

• The hospital's principal administrator reported the hospital had a “really good month” in February with an overall profit of $325,000. The profit was due to a consistent volume and management of expenses. Cash collections for the month of February were $2.15 million, which was $400,000 over January. Overall expenses for the month were $1.59 million. “We had a pretty significantly profitable month in February.”

Year-to-date the hospital has shown a profit of $412,677 compared to $320,000 last year, which it was noted was just under the budgeted amount for the month of $422,000. It was also noted that after the sale of the nursing center the hospital recorded a $3.2 million equality balance.

• The board of trustees approved the expenditure of up-to $60,000 on a portable digital ultra sound machine for the Same Day Surgery unit to replace an old obsolete machine.

Sue Rex Visits

Jerry E. Halmon, Staff Reporter

Citing her husband Jim Rex’s executive experience, knowledge of education, and his being the only democratic candidate to be elected to a state-wide office as the three main reasons to consider making him the next Governor of South Carolina, Sue Rex made a stop in Bamberg last week at the House of Pizza.

Sue Rex noted that South Carolina is one of 16 finalists for the $300 million dollars in “Race to the Top” money allocated in the Stimulus Act for education. She stated that under Jim Rex the state leads the nation in single gender education and has doubled the number of magnet and charter schools.

She stated that Jim Rex would be the “first true educator” in the governor’s office. “He knows how to connect the dots between educational development and the economy.” She also noted that Jim Rex was the only democratic candidate to win a state-wide race and to win in November it would require state-wide name recognition and be viewed favorably by the public.

Denmark Astronaut

There was much pride and support from Bamberg County residents in attendance on March 27, 2010 at Open House and Research Day at Claflin University for Denmark native and NASA Astronaut Dr. Robert Satcher, who was the keynote speaker.

Dr. Satcher delivered a keynote address that was both educational and motivational for students seeking to excel in academics and in life. The 1982 Denmark-Olar graduate showed a breathtaking video of the spacewalks that he made during the 31st shuttle flight to the International Space Station.

$2.4 million Grant

Denmark Technical College announced that it has received a $2.4 million grant from the U. S. Department of Energy Environmental Business Center. This much needed grant will be awarded to the college over the next three years. In Phase One, the college will develop a new curriculum program in the area of Construction Education and Research in conjunction with a certificate program currently offered by the college, which will address the critical workforce shortage facing the energy and environmental industry.

The college will create a new certificate program in Environmental Management in Phase 2 as a foundation for students who are interested in attending four-year institutions in the areas of environment, nuclear and biotech programs. Denmark Tech will work collaboratively with our partners, Voorhees College, S. C. State University, and Claflin University to develop articulation agreements whereby students will be able to transfer courses in the EM program to the four-year institutions and obtain Bachelors of Science degrees.

In Phase 3, the college will upgrade its current Electromechanical Engineering Technology Associate Degree Program by integrating Instrumentation and Control, PLC training and Robotics learning concepts.

Science Research Grant

Voorhees College will receive $3.1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy for its science and technology programs.

“Voorhees College is pleased to be a recipient of an award that promotes science and technology,” said President Sellers. “These funds provide an opportunity for us to improve and escalate our Stem Programs.”

Voorhees will be using the funds for the development and implementation of an environmental science major and the enhancement of its Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program (EM-STEM) and the High School Stem Program.

Trade & Industry

Trade & Industry Development magazine, the leading national magazine dedicated to site selection, recently announced that three projects recruited by the South Carolina Department of Commerce in conjunction with local economic development allies were among the magazine’s fifth annual Corporate Investment & Community Impact (CiCi) Award winners. The Boeing Company, Crane Co. and Red Ventures were among the 30 award winners selected this year.

Boeing plans to create some 4,000 new jobs and invest approximately $870million in North Charleston , the largest single job and investment announcement in state history. Boeing was chosen as one of the 15 finalists for the Corporate Investment category.

Crane Co. announced 1,000 new jobs and a $20 million investment in Barnwell County and Red Ventures announced 1,000 new jobs and a $20million investment in Lancaster County.

“South Carolina is again honored to be among the states recognized by Trade & Industry Development magazine’s CiCi Awards and being recognized with multiple awards is something that should give us all great pride. We have the finest recruiting team in the nation and these awards offer further indication that hard work together with a business climate second to none are a winning combination. As well, companies of this caliber choosing to invest in South Carolina during challenging economic times sends a powerful message that we are indeed a preferred location to do business,” said Joe Taylor, Secretary of Commerce.

Glenn Family Practice

Edisto Regional Health Services (ERHS), an affiliate of the Regional Medical Center (RMC), is pleased to announce that it has purchased the family practices of William D. Glenn, M.D. in Bamberg and Denmark.

“We are excited to add Dr. Glenn’s practices to the ERHS and Regional Medical Center families,” said Regional Medical Center President & CEO Tom Dandridge. “Dr. Glenn has an excellent reputation as an extremely competent and compassionate physician who has served patients from Bamberg County and surrounding areas for more than 12 years.”

“We are honored that he chose to partner with ERHS and the Regional Medical Center and will continue to provide the excellent care in Bamberg and Denmark that his patients have come to expect,” said Dandridge.