The South Carolina Office of Rural Health (SCORH) celebrated National Rural Health Day on November 21, 2019. As part of the celebration, Allendale Hospital CEO Lari Gooding was recognized as a national Community Star, and SCORH opened a new facility for its Family Solutions program.
“National Rural Health Day is a chance for us to showcase the partnership between our office, rural healthcare providers, and other stakeholders as we work to address health disparities in our state,” said Dr. Graham Adams, CEO of SCORH. “Today we celebrate our collective successes in reducing the challenges our rural neighbors experience in accessing quality health care.”
National Rural Health Day is an initiative of The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) and is celebrated on the third Thursday each November. Across the country, State Offices of Rural Health celebrate the #powerofrural by showcasing their collaborations with rural healthcare providers and other stakeholders to address the healthcare challenges that rural citizens face.
Gooding, the Allendale County Hospital CEO, is one of 44 Community Stars across the country being recognized as part of National Rural Health Day.
“Lari deserves this recognition because he has spent his entire career working to ensure that the residents of Allendale and Hampton counties get quality care in the communities where they live and work,” Adams said. “He has worked in numerous healthcare organizations in Allendale and Hampton counties over the course of his career, and remains a hands-on leader in his community.”
Check out this video to see why his coworkers think he deserves this honor:
Also at Thursday’s event, SCORH held a ribbon cutting ceremony on a new location in downtown Orangeburg for its Family Solutions program, which was established in 1997.
“We’ve been serving the mothers and babies of Orangeburg, Barnwell, Bamberg and Allendale counties for more than two decades,” Adams said. “It has long been our goal to establish a permanent home for this program, and we’re proud to invest in downtown Orangeburg with the purchase of this building.”
Family Solutions serves parents and babies during pregnancy and the first two years of life. SCORH purchased the building at 1031 Middleton St. earlier this year. Program staff will be moving into the new facility in the coming months.
“In the past 20 years, Family Solutions has provided care, guidance, encouragement and counseling to about 24,000 women and families,” said Virginia Berry White, director of SCORH’s Family Solutions program. “I’m proud of the work we’ve done to support an entire generation of babies born in our community, and I’m looking forward to seeing the impact on the health of our community as we serve generations to come.”
For more information about Family Solutions, visit its new website at familysolutions.scorh.net.
About the South Carolina Office of Rural Health
The S.C. Office of Rural Health (SCORH) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the health status of rural and underserved people through advocacy, education, and assistance to providers, communities, and policy makers. Since 1991, SCORH has worked to improve access to quality health care for our state’s rural residents.
About the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health is the membership association of the nation’s 50 State Offices of Rural Health. State Offices of Rural Health are anchors of information and support for rural communities, health professionals, hospitals and clinics across the nation. They are dedicated to collaboration, education, communication and innovation to improve health in small towns around the country.