Report outlines health challenges for Bamberg, Calhoun, Orangeburg counties; groups working to reduce obesity, promote activity

Orangeburg, Bamberg and Calhoun counties have made strides in reducing child poverty, but have not fared as well with adult obesity and physical inactivity, according to the 2022 County Health Rankings report.

Orangeburg County ranked as South Carolina’s 35th healthiest county, according to the national report released by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Orangeburg County moved up slightly in the rankings. It was ranked as the 36th healthiest county among the state’s 46 counties in last year’s report.

Bamberg County is ranked the 34th healthiest county, up from 39th last year.

Calhoun County continued to be ranked the 25th healthiest county.

The region saw its worst rankings in adult obesity and physical activity.

The report says 41 percent of adults in both Orangeburg and Bamberg counties are obese. In Calhoun County, 37 percent of adults are obese.

The state average is 36 percent.

An estimated 30 percent of children were living in poverty in Orangeburg County, much higher than the state average of 19 percent. It’s an improvement over last year’s report, which said 43 percent of children lived in poverty in the county.

Bamberg County reported the same percentage of children living in poverty as last year at 34 percent.

In Calhoun County, 22 percent of children under 18 were reported living in poverty. That’s an improvement from the 28 percent reported living in poverty in the county in last year’s report.

Some 33 percent of adults 20 years of age and older reported no leisure physical activity in Orangeburg County. In Bamberg County, 35 percent reported physical inactivity, while 31 percent reported no leisure physical activity in Calhoun County. The state average is 29 percent.

The report ranks the overall health of nearly every county in the nation. Each of South Carolina’s 46 counties was ranked on key factors that affect health, such as obesity, binge drinking, access to primary care providers and the number of children in poverty.

Dr. Graham Adams, chief executive officer of the S.C. Office of Rural Health, said a bright spot is that coronavirus relief funds have helped rural areas address many health factors.

“There’s so many things that a lot of our rural communities struggle with around lack of access to affordable health care and insufficient access to healthy foods and insufficient housing. All these things kind of conspire against our rural communities,” Graham said.

He continued, “One of the positive things of COVID is that a lot of resources are now flowing, and they’re flowing into rural communities. That’s a really positive thing, but how do we make sure that we build upon those for the long term and that work is sustainable and not just a one- or two-year blip thing that is going to make a difference?”

Graham said there are many ways to spend money, but the question becomes how it can be done “in a way that’s really going to make a difference in the lives of people that need it the most.”

The Tri-County Health Network, a nonprofit formed to improve the health of residents in the tri-county region, is in the process of conducting a new community needs assessment.

“We want to make sure that we have meaningful data,” Tri-County Network Manager Dr. LaShandra N. Morgan said.

The network received a $50,000 grant from the Diabetes Action Council of South Carolina on April 29.

“We’re covering the cost of training what I’m calling an army of lifestyle coaches and then compensate them so that they can offer a diabetes prevention course to the community in Bamberg, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties,” Morgan said.

“This program is evidence-based. The curriculum was put together by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I had somebody in Bamberg County who lost 52 pounds on the last program that we did. So it works,” she said.

Morgan said the course will be offered in-person at the hospital and virtually.

“We’re also offering it in different places throughout Orangeburg County and Bamberg and Calhoun,” she said.

A TCHN coalition brings together different agencies to report on access to care and opportunities for – or barriers to – healthy eating and active living.

The collaboration will be key in improving rural health outcomes, Graham said.

“It is our rural and our underserved communities that struggle the most. When policymakers look at trying to make investments throughout the state when scarce dollars are being disseminated, so often those dollars go to our more metropolitan areas when indeed, when you look at the numbers, those are not the communities that really need those dollars the most,” he said.

Morgan said work is being done to create more walkable communities.

The TCHN and Regional Medical Center are encouraging Orangeburg residents to participate in Walk with a Doc, a health program that brings doctors and patients together to walk the first Saturday of the month at 10 a.m. at the RMC track.

“We’re also starting a Walk with Ease program through the Arthritis Foundation. They teach you about walking and other healthy habits. You can come and walk with a facilitator. So we’re doing that throughout the tri-county area as well,” Morgan said.

The TCHN is also home to a Food Policy Council.

Council Coordinator DeBorah Jamison said, “It’s a grassroots effort to bring all the stakeholders around the food system together to look at what policies could be enhanced, added or changed around healthy food access and getting rid of food deserts.”

Jamison continued, “We’re still doing surveys, and we’ve expanded our surveys to include colleges and universities. So we’re working with the coordinators at the food pantries at the different colleges.”

Morgan said, “We’re really trying to do a lot when it comes to preventing obesity.”

A $300,000 grant from the S.C. Center for Rural and Primary Health Care has allowed the TCHN to place a social worker in the Orangeburg County Library.

“She’s doing an amazing job making connections with community members if they need help with services. She’s also doing mental health first aid in making sure that people are mentally well. She covers the whole county,” Morgan said.

In the meantime, healthy food box distributions are also being held.

“We’re in the process of planning a whole new series, making sure we hit every corner of Orangeburg, Bamberg and Calhoun counties,” Morgan said.

The development of school and community gardens have been another successful initiative within the tri-county area.

“Through Growing COB (Calhoun-Orangeburg-Bamberg), we have boots on the ground. The TCHN is Growing COB’s fiscal agent, and there are now conversations about us putting gardens in Vance, St. Matthews and Santee. We’re trying to find a partner in the City of Bamberg,” Morgan said.

Gardens already exist in the Bamberg County towns of Ehrhardt and Denmark, as well as at Orangeburg’s Samaritan House homeless shelter, South Carolina State University and RMC.

“Our whole goal is to reduce the risk of chronic disease. Part of our strategy is actually involving the community and getting their input. People like to talk to the community, but we like to talk with the community,” Morgan said.

For more information on the TCHN and its initiatives, contact Harrison by email at lnmorgan@regmed.com or visit the TCHN Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TriCountyHN.