Free Medical Clinic announces its 3rd Annual Heroes for Health Golf Classic
By Stephen O. Edwards
The Free Medical Clinic of Darlington County announces the 3rd Annual Heroes For Health Classic, presented by NUCOR South Carolina, to benefit the Free Medical Clinic. The event will be held on Thursday, Sept. 23, at The Darlington Country Club and will include morning and afternoon rounds, continental breakfast, and lunch. Golfers will enjoy an excellent welcome package, golf on the great DCC layout, as well as on-course beverages and snacks. Teams finishing in 1st through 4th place in each round will be awarded CASH prizes. Prizes will also be awarded for straightest drive and closest to the pin from both rounds. Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center is also sponsoring a Hole in One contest for a new vehicle. Cost is $100 per player and $400 per team and sponsorship opportunities range from $200 to $2,500 and still exist. The Free Medical Clinic of Darlington County started in 2000 and provides free primary care, prescriptions and much more to the more than 6,000 uninsured adults of Darlington County. In 2020, the Clinic provided nearly $1,000,000 in free medical care and over the 20 years of our existence has provided almost $15 million in free care to our Darlington County friends and neighbors. FMCDC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supported by churches, individuals, businesses as well as foundation grants from The United Way of Hartsville and Darlington, Byerly Foundation, The BlueCross BlueShield Foundation of S.C., Coker Foundation, Eastern Carolina Community Foundation, Dabo’s All In Foundation, Pee Dee Electric Cooperative and others. FMCDC has clinics at 203 Grove Street in Darlington and 500 W. Carolina Avenue in Hartsville. In recent years our services and eligibility criteria have expanded to allow more of our friends to use the Clinic; we hired our first-ever full time provider to allow us to expand hours of operation; and we have partnered with McLeod’s Mobile Mammography unit, The Darlington Lions Club, S.C. Vocational Rehabilitation, Pee Dee Mental Health, Florence-Darlington Technical College’s Dental Hygiene program, Francis Marion University’s College of Health Sciences and PDRTA to remove barriers to receiving services and expand services not previously offered. According to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Services, Darlington County ranks 36th out of 46 S.C. counties for health outcomes which measure length and quality of life. 15.6 percent of the county’s adult population is uninsured; 18.9 percent have delayed healthcare due to cost; the 10-year stroke mortality rate is 7.6 percent higher than the state average, and we have the highest mortality rate for those diagnosed with breast cancer. The goal of The Free Medical Clinic is to have a positive impact on these statistics by expanding services, providing more early screening prevention measures, and ensuring that quality healthcare to Darlington County residents who otherwise would not be able to afford such care. Please join us in these efforts by becoming a Hero For Health! For more information on the Golf Classic, to register, donate an item for the silent auction, purchase tickets, or become a sponsoring partner, please visit: www.fmcdc.org. For more information about FMCDC, visit our facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/freemedicalclinicdc or our webpage at: www.freemedicalclinicdc.org. ADV.