Healthy Me and SC Targets Underserved Communities

Healthy Me–Healthy SC put on a health clinic Saturday in Lake City — something it has done 18 times already across rural South Carolina — as part of a partnership between Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina.

Arrayed in a semicircle in the gym at Lake City High School was a collection of tables from vendors and MUSC Health Black River that offered participants advice on mental health, alcohol abuse, health screenings, DNA testing, lunch and, at the end, a food box.

One table offered free blood pressure testing machines so people can monitor their blood pressure from the comfort of their homes.

“We have a bunch of different health screenings available,” said Mackenzie Sullivan, operations manager for Healthy Me – Healthy SC. “They’re doing blood pressure, I believe glucose tests, nutrition screenings and also passing out food boxes as well as partners like Monlina Healthcare and have some health programs we’re advertising in the community.”

DNA SC was also on hand to collect DNA for MUSC’s state-wide database that gives participants results for specific health conditions they may be predisposed to get as well as their ancestry.