Tri-County Health Network

Transforming the Health of Bamberg, Calhoun, and Orangeburg Counties.

The Tri-County Health Network (TCHN) and Regional Medical Center (RMC) have continued to work collaboratively to complete the 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). This assessment process allows TCHN and RMC to gain an understanding of community facts and perceptions about health and quality of life from a variety of stakeholders as it relates to priority health conditions.

Now that the 2019 CHNA has been completed, we are sharing it with the community and are in the process of designing an Implementation Plan that will incorporate programming to focus on the areas of need that have been identified. The priority issues that were identified for the 2019 CHNA are Access to Healthcare, Diabetes, Obesity, and Hypertension. Both RMC and TCHN are working to create policies, systems, and environmental change to impact and improve the health outcomes in the Tri-County area.

In 2019, the Tri-County Health Network determined that it will lead a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) in order to bring together stakeholders and residents to co-design a plan to address these recurring community health issues. This report outlines the three-year plan that key stakeholders within the Tri-County area have created in an effort to achieve optimal health in Bamberg, Calhoun, and Orangeburg counties.

About TCHN

Organizationally, TCHN has been designated with a 501(c) 3 nonprofit status by the Internal Revenue Service, has established a Board of Directors representing a wide diversity of community sectors and stakeholders, and adopted the following mission and vision statements.

• VISION: Through collaborative partnerships, we educate our community, maximize resources, improve access and create environments to improve health and promote healthy lifestyles.
• MISSION: All partners will collectively work to promote healthy lifestyles and improve access to health care through individual and systems change in the hospital, other health care providers, schools, churches, worksites, governmental, and other local organizations and the general communities within the three counties.

TCHN has adopted the following long-term goals:

• To decrease complications that result from diabetes and high blood pressure.
• To increase the percentage of adults and children participating in physical activity.
• To increase the percentage of adults and children who eat fruits and vegetables daily.
• To decrease the rate of obesity.
• To sustain a community-wide partnership that focuses on healthy lifestyles.

Currently, there are three committees dedicated to accomplishing these goals: Health Ministry, Chronic Disease, and Healthy Eating/Active Living. The success of these committees has been, in large part, due to the involvement of members of the Orangeburg, Bamberg and Calhoun county communities.

Tri-County Health Network Board Members

• Verlie Tisdale, PhD
  Claflin University
  Chair
• Doris Haigler
  Family Health Centers, Inc.
• Brenda Hughes
  S.C. Department of Health & Environmental Control
  Vice Chair
• Carol Koenecke-Grant
  Regional Medical Center
• Jim Johnson
  SC State University
  Secretary
• Menia Lee
  Voorhees College
• Jennifer Ballew
  Orangeburg County YMCA
• Gloria McCutchen, PhD
  Claflin University
• Virginia Berry-White
  Low Country Family Solutions
• Linda Payne, PhD
  Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College
• Lara Buss
  Southern Housing and Community Development
• Sandra Stephens, MD
  Family Health Centers, Inc.
• Phillip Ford
  Eat Smart Move More, South Carolina
• Louis Whitesides, PhD
  SC State University/1890 Research & Extension
• Cindy Goodroe, RN
  Orangeburg-Calhoun Free Medical Clinic