CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) — Conway Medical Center (CMC) has been awarded a $350,000 grant from the Duke Endowment to enhance mental health and addiction services for underserved communities in Horry County.
The grant aims to expand the availability of mental health and substance abuse counseling, particularly through the United Way of Horry County’s Breaking Barriers of Mental Health program. CMC will provide referrals to this initiative, facilitating greater access to necessary resources.
“This grant enables us to collaborate with local resources to deliver appropriate mental health and addiction counseling services to those in need,” said Dr. Paul Richardson, CMC’s Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Education.
Richardson highlighted that while CMC’s emergency department often encounters patients needing mental health services, the hospital does not specialize in psychiatric care. The grant will thus help connect patients with licensed mental health and addiction counselors.
“It allows us to have more access for the patients with the conditions we do treat while ensuring those needing specialized services receive appropriate care,” Richardson added.
Horry County ranks fifth in South Carolina for suicide attempts and ideation and is first for drug overdoses and overdose deaths, according to Blakely Roof, President and CEO of United Way of Horry County.
To address these alarming statistics, the Breaking Barriers Program will offer free, outpatient counseling for substance use disorders and mental health issues, targeting homeless, uninsured, underinsured, low-to-moderate income, and rural populations.
The grant will enable Breaking Barriers to increase the availability of counselors at various locations and expand the number of clients served. The program also plans to identify new sites for meeting with clients, ensuring accessibility.
“We’re always looking for new sites,” Roof said. “We’ve changed sites if they’re not a good location, but the most important thing is we want to meet people where they are. We want to eliminate those barriers so that they can receive the services and live their best lives.”
To track progress, United Way of Horry County counselors assess patients’ moods after each session. Roof noted that 70% of patients attending multiple sessions show improvement in their mental health journey. The grant aims to continue this success and reduce the stigma associated with seeking mental health care.
“A lot of it also has to do with the stigma of mental health,” Roof emphasized. “Getting counseling doesn’t mean you’re weak or there’s something wrong. It could be me, it could be you, it could be anybody. Having access to talk to someone and work through issues is really important.”
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