1951: Clarendon Health System created.
1971: Clarendon Memorial Hospital opens.
1999: New hospital opens.
2003: 22,000 expansion completed.
2012: $22.6M bond referendum passes.
2016: Becomes part of McLeod Health System.
Rachel Gainey, hospital administrator for McLeod Health Clarendon, speaks on Thursday during a celebration for the hospital's 70 years in Manning. An outdoor ceremony and indoor tours and reception were held.
In deciding where to live, closeness to a hospital is typically among the priorities.
Yet, in many rural communities across the nation, rural hospitals are shuttering. Before the pandemic, as people and providers departed to urban centers, funding followed.
When hospitals are forced to close their doors, hundreds are left without jobs, thousands without health care. This is not the image of Clarendon County.
On Thursday, rather than mark yet another loss among rural health care, McLeod Health Clarendon celebrated its continued presence in Manning. Calling it their 70/5 anniversary to mark 70 years since the hospital opened and five since it joined the McLeod Health system, an outdoor ceremony presented hours of new and improved services added.
A hospital is vital for a community's physical health, but its economics support more, said state Rep. Kimberly Johnson, D-Manning. It supports the mental health of those living nearby. It tackles saving disparities and routine accessibility during the height of the pandemic when Clarendon County...
For some families, fathers can be any strong male figure, whether it's the biological dad, stepfather or an uncle. For Tariq Coard, however, had his older brother, Adrian, to play the role of his father and one of his main supporters in life after the death of his parents.
Adrian, meanwhile, was told early on that there was a reason things happen in the universe. He sees Tariq blossoming into the young man he thought he was going to be and knew that the family bond was strong.
Tariq Coard and his older brother, Adrian Coard, spend time together at the Riley Park basketball courts. The brothers lost both of their parents in the span of two weeks in 2012, when Tariq was 8 years old, and Tariq credits Adrian for being a father figure to him. His sister has also played a motherly role in his life.