Kershaw Health

Hospital Foundation Grants

Each year through the generous annual giving of our donors, The Hospital Foundation is able to make grants to KershawHealth to fund critical projects not included in the healthcare sytem's regular budget.

Recent grants have included:

Lithotripter

In early 2010, the Foundation made a grant of $210,000 to KershawHealth for the purchase of a lithotripter. That grant, along with $90,000 from The Carolina Cup Racing Association, which annually provides funding to the healthcare system from the running of the Carolina and Colonial Cups, made the purchase possible.

A lithotripter uses sound waves to break up kidney stones into tiny pieces which are easily passed. Up until now, KershawHealth had provided lithotripsy only two Mondays a month when a mobile unit came to the Medical Center. Because of the limited availability of lithotripsy, patients have had to wait up to two weeks for treatment or seek care outside the county. But with the permanent lithotripter in place, patients suffering the often intense pain of kidney stones now have timely access to the lithotripsy procedure.

During his presentation of the check, Foundation Board Chairman Moultrie Burns noted, “One of our goals at the foundation is to be sure that our donors understand exactly what their generosity has accomplished. The tangibility of this equipment and the great good it will do in relieving pain, we hope, will make this a particularly gratifying project to all those who helped make it possible.”

In accepting the check, KershawHealth President and CEO Donnie Weeks commented, “It is encouraging to see how closely aligned the foundation’s efforts are with the strategic priorities of KershawHealth. Just within the last year, we successfully recruited a urologist to the county, and the funding of a permanent lithotripter further expands urological services to everyone in our area.”

Four Drager Medical BabyTherm Infant Warming Systems

This is the latest generation of infant warming system and establishes new standards in “open care,” providing newborns with a unique thermal environment while also ensuring ease of access for nursing staff and physicians. Placing infants under radiant warmers is standard care to prevent cold stress and possible hypothermia. $67,000

Wellsource Personal Wellness Profile Software for the Health Resource Center

One of the most comprehensive, customizable, and affordable Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) on the market today, this software will enable the HRC to collect critical data on an individual in many different categories (physical activity, eating practices, family history, etc) and create an individual wellness profile and intervention/activity plan. HRC will offer this service to local businesses and individuals. $14,500

Financial Support KershawHealth’s Diabetes Education Program

This grant allows for approximately 30 patients to participate in the full course of six classes. This course is designed for those recently diagnosed or those who need a refresher course on how to manage and control their diabetes. $19,000

Two Hill-Rom TotalCare Beds for the Intensive Care Unit

These beds make it easy to maintain the standard protocols for prevention of ventilator-acquired pneumonia and also to provide proper skin care by automatically distributing the patient’s weight and providing airflow directly beneath the patient. These beds normally cost approximately $40,000 each, but we were able to locate two “demo” models at reduced cost. $34,000

Free Prostate Cancer Screening

Kershaw County is one of eleven counties in South Carolina with a death rate from prostrate cancer higher than the national average. Recognizing that early detection is critical to reducing the mortality rate, a grant was made to the Health Resource Center to provide free prostate cancer screenings to men across the county. $8,000