Over the past several years, I have humbly had the opportunity to observe The Regional Medical Center of Orangeburg and Calhoun Counties from several perspectives.

As chairman of Calhoun County Council, I have been involved in the process of providing funding for RMC by council’s approval of its reasonable requests. As a visitor to the hospital, I have observed the dedication of the administration, the medical staff, nurses and other health care professionals as they perform their duties. As a taxpaying citizen myself, I am aware that a quality health care operation must have funds with which to function.

However, I want to use this forum to express my sincere feelings as a client, customer and consumer of RMC and its services.

Since July of this year, I have traveled from Cameron to RMC many times. During this period of time, two of my immediate family members were patients at RMC.

My wife, Nancy, was hospitalized for 55 days. Soon after she was discharged, our youngest daughter was rushed to RMC for treatment with an emergency medical condition. Thankfully, both have recovered, were released and they are moving on with their lives. As I spent many long and countless hours awaiting word and hoping and trusting for good medical reports on both of them, I realized how fortunate we are in Orangeburg and Calhoun counties to have such a modern, capable and caring medical facility, and how blessed we are to have professional medical personnel that take an interest in the healing and well being of their patients and clients.

Believe me, I know, any agency or individual that serves the public will be the target of criticism, verbal jabs and on the receiving end of negative and even brutal comments. However, as my family and I recently gathered for Thanksgiving dinner, I found myself giving thanks for all of the great things we enjoy in this great country of ours, including the contributions RMC gave us to be together. During our experiences, my wife, my daughter, as well as my entire family and I, came in contact with doctors, nurses, other health care professionals, staff and administrators, many locally trained and educated, who could practice their medical skills and health care services anywhere, but choose to do so here.

During my stays in the family waiting rooms and on the halls of RMC, I witnessed caring physicians and RMC employees genuinely concerned about their patients and wanting to see our area prosper and grow while realizing that a quality health care facility is a foundation and the keystone in the building process.

I hope and trust that this coming year and subsequent years will spare me from visiting the RMC as much as I had to visit it this year as a customer. However, it is gratifying to know that we have within our community a superlative, first-rate medical facility along with competent, caring medical personnel and professionals who can meet our health care needs. These people and this facility have helped make my family whole again. I appreciate their work. I am confident that others also have had positive, similar experiences with RMC.

– David K. Summers Jr., Cameron

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