McDonald’s gives $30,000 for CareSouth Mobile Health Center
CareSouth Carolina and their supporting organization CareFirst Carolina Foundation celebrated a major donation last week as owners of local McDonald’s restaurants presented a check for $30,000 to fund operation of the ROADS Team Mobile Health Center.
Photos by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
CareSouth Carolina and their supporting organization CareFirst Carolina Foundation celebrated a major donation last week as owners of local McDonald’s restaurants presented a check for $30,000 to fund operation of the ROADS Team Mobile Health Center.
ROADS stands for Reaching Out And Delivering Services, and the 40-foot Mobile Health Center is a virtual clinic on wheels that brings state of the art medical screening and treatment services to underserved children in Darlington, Chesterfield, Dillon, Lee, and Marlboro Counties. The unit can be parked at schools, community centers, and special events where it’s easily accessible to those in need.
“Basically we’re trying to serve kids whose parents have transportation issues and can’t get them to a doctor, so we’re taking the services to the need,” says Mark Sobiski, CareFirst Carolina Foundation director. “It’s too expensive to open a fixed site everywhere that needs one, but you can bring one of these Mobile Health Centers in and take care of a lot of procedures.”
Sobiski says CareSouth is expanding their portable dental services as well, bringing dentists and hygienists to convenient sites so kids (and some adults) can improve their oral health. In the near future, CareSouth plans to add a mobile dental unit to provide care even in locations where space restrictions prohibit setting up these portable clinics.
“We don’t have enough room in some locations for a dentist’s office, but we can park the dentist’s office outside and see patients there,” says Sobiski.
Robert Kerzner, owner of McDonald’s restaurants in Darlington and Hartsville, says that he and fellow Pee Dee area franchisees Arnett James and Jimmy Hernandez are happy to help by providing this donation – which is all local money, not corporate.
“Mark came to me about a year ago and we talked about this concept… and I was sold on it,” says Kerzner, who has also sponsored academic and sports awards and programs in Darlington County for 25 years. “It fits right into our wheelhouse as McDonald’s owners, to support a program like this for the kids.”
CareFirst Carolina Foundation is a 501c3 public charity. For more information on CareFirst and CareSouth’s medical outreach programs, visit www.caresouth-carolina.com/about-us/foundation.
One of two modern and well-equipped exam rooms in the Mobile Health Center.