Darlington County has been named the winner of the Healthy South Carolina Challenge, an initiative backed by South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford, for efforts toward improving its overall picture of health.
That’s quite a jump, considering that for the past two years, Darlington County was at the bottom of the barrel compared with the Palmetto State’s 45 other counties.
Criteria for the recognition were based on the fact that Darlington County had the highest percentage improvement in its overall health and wellness when measured in terms of the percentage change in body mass index, smoking rates and physical activity.
Some of the reasons for this rapid improvement have to do with a number of activities and programs that have been introduced to Darlington County residents during the past year. These include new walking trails, wellness programs for local government and private sector employees, as well as participation in the YMCA Shrinkdown, an eight-week fitness and weight loss program.
The announcement comes as somewhat of a surprise to Aric Samuel, who is program director at the Hartsville YMCA, because of some stiff competition from the YMCA in Columbia, which also featured a Shrinkdown program. But even more gratifying was the level of participation in the program, which exceeded expectations.
“We expected 300 to 400 people, and we had well over 500,” he said. “We had a tremendous turnout that was very successful. Everybody seemed to be extremely motivated. As you can see, some pretty good results came out of that. I really look forward to it next year.”
Sanford said both she and Gov. Mark Sanford always have supported new ways aimed at helping children, and people on the whole, lead a healthier lifestyle.
“As our world has changed, we have failed to change along with it,” she said. “We know more about how important it is to stay fit, eat well and not to smoke. Our challenge is no different than what all Americans face, but we do need to constantly find new ways to highlight it.”
Traci Hubbard, director of radiology at McLeod Medical Center-Darlington, said a huge mission of the hospital is to assist medically underserved residents there through screening, early identification of disease, as well as health education and assistance in finding available treatments.
“We also support the Darlington Free Clinic both financially and with our physicians, nurses and technicians who volunteer to staff the clinic,” she said. “We are extremely proud that Darlington County received this recognition, and we hope that the healthy lifestyles of our county’s residents will continue to improve for years to come.”
Sanford said she hoped Darlington County’s achievement will catch on with other counties across the state.
“Let’s all look to Darlington and other healthier South Carolina locations and make changes, even small ones, that can make a big difference in our health,” she said in a press release issued by the Healthy South Carolina Challenge.