LMC invests $150K in WellPartners Dental & Eye Clinics
Lexington Medical Center has presented United Way of the Midlands with $150,000 in grants to provide support for United Way’s WellPartners Dental and Eye Clinics.
WellPartners offers free dental and eye care services that provide preventative and restorative care to uninsured and underinsured children and adults in the Midlands. WellPartners is owned and operated by United Way of the Midlands with additional support from community partners, including Lexington County, Lexington Medical Center, Prisma Health and Richland County.
“Lexington Medical Center is happy to provide financial support to WellPartners to address community health care needs, advance the core mission of our hospital, and bridge the health care gaps within our service area,” said Thomas Tafel, Community Outreach Manager at Lexington Medical Center.
Giving criteria for Lexington Medical Center prioritizes organizations serving the local community’s health needs, increasing access to health care services for underserved populations, improving education about and prevention of health problems resulting from social and environmental issues, demonstrating collaboration with existing health care initiatives, improving access to health care and support services for vulnerable and at-risk populations, and improving the capacity of safety net services and providers.
“WellPartners provides much needed dental and eye care to the people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to receive care,” said Sara Fawcett, President & CEO of United Way of the Midlands. “Because of partners like LMC, we can continue to provide these services for years to come.”
In the 2021-2022 fiscal year, WellPartners Dental Clinics provided dental services to 644 adults and 173 children. Over 145 volunteer dentists and hygienists conducted a total of 3,541 patient visits. Eight hundred and seventy individuals received eye care services through WellPartners’ Eye Clinic which included 726 comprehensive eye exams, 102 optical encounters and 42 emergency and office visits.
Watch this video to see how WellPartners is bringing smiles back to the Midlands.
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About Lexington Medical Center
Lexington Medical Center is a 557-bed hospital in West Columbia, South Carolina. It anchors a health care network that includes five community medical centers and employs a staff of more than 7,800 health care professionals. The hospital was ranked best hospital in the Columbia Metro and #2 hospital in South Carolina by U.S. News & World Report and was named one of the “Best Places to Work in South Carolina” by SC Biz News, in partnership with the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and Best Companies Group. Lexington Medical Cancer Center is an accredited Cancer Center of Excellence and has a clinical research and education affiliation with MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. The network includes a cardiovascular program recognized by the American College of Cardiology as South Carolina’s first HeartCARE Center. The network also has an occupational health center, the largest skilled nursing facility in the Carolinas, an Alzheimer’s care center and 70 physician practices. Lexington Medical Center operates one of the busiest Emergency departments in South Carolina, treating nearly 100,000 patients each year. The hospital delivers more than 4,000 babies each year and performs more than 25,000 surgeries.