‘We are here for you’: Ribbon cut on RMC Primary Care-Bowman

She lives only two blocks from the clinic and, when it closed following the retirement of Dr. Anna Price, her heart sank thinking she would have to transfer all of her medical records and travel to Orangeburg to receive primary care.

But when she heard the Regional Medical Center was going to keep the clinic open, it made her day.

“I am glad,” Easterling said. “I don’t want to transfer to Orangeburg, so I am glad it is opening up.”

Bowman resident Lessie Minus also appreciates the clinic remaining open. She says the facility is about three miles away from her home, compared to a 25-mile trip to Santee.

“It is good because I travel so far to the doctor,” Minus said. “I am hoping to get my doctor’s care here now.”

Minus and Easterling, along with hospital and community leaders, came out Tuesday afternoon to witness the ribbon-cutting for the 2,000-square-foot RMC Primary Care-Bowman.

The clinic at 106 Causeway Court will be open from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and Thursdays, and 8 a.m. to noon on Fridays. There are plans to eventually open up five days a week and expand hours as its patient volumes grow.

RMC Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Lisa Etheridge will serve as the provider for the clinic. Etheridge has been with RMC for the past four years. Dr. William O’Quinn will be the supervising physician for the office.

Etheridge will staff the facility along with a medical assistant. A nurse practitioner will be coming on board in the near future.

“I am excited to be a part of it,” Etheridge said. “I am excited to be available in the community and be able to help people who can’t necessarily get to Orangeburg and can’t get the care they need. They can come see me versus going to the emergency room.”

For Etheridge, being able to staff the clinic is a dream come true.

“I have always been drawn to primary care,” she said. “This is where my heart has been ever since I became a nurse practitioner. This is what I wanted to do.”

The primary care service is the first presence for RMC in Bowman.

RMC has upgraded the facility by painting it and putting in new flooring. The work was done by the hospital’s engineering department.

The clinic will include three exam rooms initially with expectations that it will grow to include six exam rooms. The services provided will be primary care with basic work, Etheridge said.

“Our goal is to see patients from 2-years-old through their lifespan,” Etheridge said.

RMC Board Chairman the Rev. Dr. Caesar Richburg said, “Some great things are happening. The work has been going on for quite some time.”

“It is the conviction of the medical center there in Orangeburg, along with the board of governance and the leadership, that we have quality health care throughout the breadth and depth of our service area,” Richburg said.

“We are very excited about the health care and the footprint being extended beyond the main campus of the RMC,” he continued.

RMC Director of Pastoral Care the Rev. Paul Hamilton prayed God will bless the clinic, “that it might be something that will bring healing to this community, that it will bring better health care and that many lives can be extended and live longer and a healthier life.”

Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce President James McQuilla said the center will benefit the health of the people in Bowman and beyond.

“This is a great thing that is going on,” he said.

Orangeburg County Councilman Johnny Ravenell said the center will be a benefit the community, especially in a time of COVID-19.

“It is good to have a health care facility in each community. This is good for the Bowman community,” he said.

Bowman Mayor Patsy Rhett said, “Welcome to Bowman.”

RMC’s presence, “will truly be an asset for our people,” she said.

Rhett thanked Dr. Price for over 35 years of service in the community.

Sen. Vernon Stephens, D-Bowman, said “When Dr. Price decided to close shop, I was concerned about the seniors in this community because they relied on Dr. Price and this facility.

“I am ecstatic about rural health care in this area and the cooperation between the Regional Medical Center and the town of Bowman to open up this office and to give the residents of Bowman affordable and convenient health care. I think we will get that here. I truly believe this is going to be an asset.”

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, said “It is great to see RMC expanding services in the smaller communities. I look forward to working with them. It is great to have this. My hat’s off to the board.”

RMC President and CEO David Southerland said, “It is really great day for us to open this clinic to serve the community in Bowman. We are doing God’s work in providing health care to the community.”

Southerland noted the clinic will continue to provide the quality care that RMC has been recognized for, most recently through its reaccreditation by The Joint Commission.

RMC Vice President of Operations Sabrina Robinson reflected on when hospital board member John Shuler came to her late last year and informed her of an opportunity in Bowman for the hospital.

“The people of the town of Bowman, we are here for you,” Robinson said. “The Regional Medical Center is here for you. We are here for our patients. We are here for our employees.”

RMC’s expansion goes beyond Bowman.

The hospital is opening a new clinic in St. Matthews and is also going to look at opening a clinic in Holly Hill and a new center in Santee.