Historical Perspective

Historical perspectives are important in understanding current situations of any organization. This is the history of Pee Dee Mental Health Center and how our organization came to exist and have the opportunity to serve the mentally ill population of our three county catchment areas.

The Mental Health Association in Florence County was chartered in November 1955, but long before that time the mental health movement has been underway in Florence County. In fact, from 1927 and until 1942 there was a mobile clinic that came from Columbia from what is now The State Department of Mental Health. Dr. William P. Beckman, affectionately known to everyone as “Dr. Pete,” came to Florence on a regular basis with a staff of social workers and psychologists. The clinic was housed at the old YMCA down near the railroad station. In addition to treatment, they did a lot of early education and created a lot of interest in the community. Actively involved in this traveling clinic was Hazel Osteen Gee, and outstanding educator. She realized the importance of local treatment services through her experience with Dr. Beckman and his professional staff. With the shortages of gasoline and tires during World War II and the resulting limitation on travel, the mobile clinic expired.

Dr. C. Fred Williams, Superintendent of the S.C. State Hospital from 1915 to 1945, realized the need for community mental health clinics. He encouraged a program to educate the public about mental illness, its causes and methods of prevention.

The first clinic to provide services for the mentally ill who did not need hospitalization was opened at S.C. State Hospital in 1920. The first permanent outpatient clinic opened in Columbia in 1923. The success of this clinic inspired the opening of traveling clinics in Greenville and Spartanburg in 1924.

Dr. Beckman joined the S.C. State Hospital staff in 1925 and two years later became Director of the Mental Hygiene Department. By 1927 traveling clinics were established in Florence, Orangeburg, and Anderson.

Following World War II, Mrs. Gee, then Director of Curriculum and Guidance for Florence District One Schools and virtually the “mother” of the mental movement in South Carolina, kept in constant contact with Dr. Beckman about getting a mental health clinic in Florence. Mrs. Gee said that every time she saw Dr. Pete she talked with him about it and finally one day he said, “You’ll get a clinic in Florence when you get a Mental Health Association. We can’t go into a community that doesn’t have an active, interested group of lay volunteers to back us up”. So Hazel Gee and Dr. Mary L. King, school psychologist for Florence School District One, got together and made a list of persons whom they contacted to help organize the Mental Health Association. At that time the Rev. Larry Jackson was the dynamic young director of a pioneer project in Florence, the Pastoral Counseling Services at Central United Methodist Church. He was drafted as the first president for the Florence County Association for Mental Health. The original members as listed on the application for affiliation with the South Carolina Association for Mental Health were as follows: Rev. Larry A. Jackson, President; Dr. M. R. Mobley, Vice President; Mary L. King, Secretary; Mrs. Hazel O. Gee, Treasurer; Saunders Bridges and Dr. Walter M. Hart, Executive Committee. Other members for the Board of Directors were Norman M. Muckabee, Superintendent of the S.C. School for Boys; Frances H. Douglas, Director of Social Services; and John Harley, Superintendent of Florence District One Schools. Charter members of the association in addition to the officers and Board of Directors were Mrs. Roy (Margaret) Bruce, Mrs. Lennie Nettles, Dr. Harold Jeter, Rev. James F. Trammell (Lake City), Mrs. Lee W. Salley, Mrs. Madge Rainwater, Mrs. L.D. (Ruth Lide, Dr. Julian Price, Miss Beatty Gillespie, B.B. Leitzsey, Mrs. J.L. Barringer, Jr., Mrs. Elsie Lunn, Mrs. Ralph (Louise) Sinclair, and Mr. Richard McLaurin.

In their charter meeting they set as their goal getting a mental health clinic in Florence County. The Mental Health Association and the Medical Society worked very closely together and tremendous interest and support were created very quickly.

The Darlington County Child Guidance Association, which had been operative for some years, requested the opportunity to participate with the Florence County Association in development of clinical services. The Child Guidance Association sponsored the Darlington County Mental Health Association which was chartered in January 1956. Then the Child Guidance Association disbanded. First officers of this group were: Mrs. Sadie B. Want, President; Hugh S. Thompson, Vice President; Mrs. Inez Mc. C. Lawson, Secretary; Preston Shealy, Treasurer; D.L. Holly, Soyle W. Boggs, and Mrs. Dan Beasley, Directors at Large. Other charter members included Laurie Price, Mrs. Jack Gardner, Mrs. Mary Jane Cain, LeRoy M. Want, Roy Peavey, Jr., Mrs. Chafee Jones, Jr., Mrs. Hugh Brunson, Mrs. C.E. Coggeshall, and Mrs. Sarah Roper.

Through the combined efforts of the Florence County Association, the Darlington County Association, and the Florence County Medical Society, funds for the new clinic were appropriated in the 1956 legislative session. The clinic was officially activated August 15, 1956, just nine months after the Association was chartered. Dynamic leadership was given by the first chairman of the clinic’s Advisory Board, Dr. Walter M. Hart. Its official name initially was “The Darlington-Florence County Mental Health Center.” This is significant in that the founders of this professional mental health facility from the beginning had the dream of providing a comprehensive community mental health center program for their two county areas. Their dream and plan preceded any state or federal legislation in regard to comprehensive community mental health centers. There was much enthusiasm and excitement in the general populace for this innovative idea of a community mental health center in a predominately rural area.

The initial advisory board was a knowledgeable group who made it their business to become well informed about mental health and the needs of the mentally ill. They decided that development of a comprehensive center would be the most effective way to provide services in a rural area.

One can see from the history up to this point that the history of the Mental Health Associations of Florence and Darlington Counties and of the Mental Health Center is inextricably intertwined. The Darlington-Florence Mental health Center began operation on August 15, 1956, as the fifth mental health clinic to be developed in the state, the first to be a joint venture of two counties, and the first in a semi-rural area. The first four were in urban centers–Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, and Spartanburg. Also, this was the first experiment in a two county operation. It became a reality so fast that it had been oversold in the community, and much education was needed in order to help the three boards, that is, the board of each county Mental Health Association and the Advisory Board of the Mental Health Clinic, to understand the purpose and function of the lay volunteer organization (the associations) and the professional facility (the clinic) and their role in relationship to each other. Much education with each county legislative delegation was essential. The Medical Society has been afraid there would not be enough clients to warrant having the professional staff of three, that their members referred over two hundred clients the first six weeks the clinic was open. Again, much education was needed with this group. The initial staff consisted of three full-time persons. Linda M. Summer, ACSW, was Chief Psychiatric Social Worker and Administrator, Lorraine B. Kendall was Secretary-Receptionist, and Dr. Sidney I. Dean was Chief Psychologist. Dr. W. P. Beckman, State Commissioner of Mental Health, came down one day a week to give psychiatric coverage. This clinic was his pride and joy. The clinic was started in an old house at 161 East Palmetto Street, across the street from the fire department.

In the first year of the clinic operation there was considerable confusion. The two Mental Health Associations were quite pleased with having accomplished their mission and for a time seemed to lose their raison d’etre. There was a lot of duplication on the three boards. Some members of the Clinic Advisory Board were also on the board of their respective county Associations, and at time did not seem to be able to differentiate which board meeting they were attending.

So the initial focus has to be on education of the various boards, the medical society, and the larger community as to what the clinic was all about and the fact that it could not survive without the continued support and sponsorship of the Mental Health Associations. There were three women Mrs. Charles N. (Mary Alice) Ingram, Mrs. Jack (Dot) Wright, Mrs. Jack (Sarah) Meadors who finally head the message from the staff of the need for help from the Mental Health Association volunteers. These three Association members along with Linda Summer “stumped” the county, meeting with every conceivable group from who they could wangle an invitation to appear. These members decided that Florence County should have the largest Mental Health membership in the state and set as their goals 1,000 members. They succeeded and for a number of years, the Florence County Association led the state in membership and activities. Concurrently, the Darlington County Association has a similar program of community education and growth, reaching out to schools and other organizations in Darlington, Hartsville, Lamar, and Society Hill.

About 1960 a group of volunteers was trained to provide volunteer services with the Center. Their function was to serve as receptionists, to provide transportation for patients, and to assist the staff in whatever ways were needed. Among those receiving this training and serving in this capacity was Mrs. L. D. Eagles, Mrs. T. B. Young, Mrs. Jr. R. (Frances McDonald, Mrs. J. R. Plater, and Mrs. J.D. (Ione) Kendall.

The Florence County Association along with The Darlington County Association worked very hard to get an acute intensive treatment center for the area when the Florence-Darlington Tuberculosis Hospital was closed (early 60s). The county legislative delegation had offered it free to the State Tuberculosis Association but they turned it down. They next offered it to the State Department of Mental Health but Dr. William S. Hall who was the Superintendent of the State Hospital was not oriented in this direction and discouraged the South Carolina Mental Health Commission from accepting it. The Association members were working hard trying to convince Dr. Hall and the Mental Health Commission that this was a much needed facility. The prospects of success were looking good when McLeod Hospital became interested in the facility and began negotiating to buy it. At that point the doctor’s wives who had been very active on this special committee for an acute intensive treatment center withdrew from this activity because of the conflict of interests with their husbands’ desire to have the facility as an annex to McLeod Hospital. This committee was successful, however, in getting the hospital to set aside a portion of the facility for a psychiatric unit. The two Mental Health Associations worked with this psychiatric unit at its inception in the same way that it did with other mental health facilities.

The Mental Health Associations were very active in the efforts of the staff and the Center board to get the new building on the Darlington Highway that was dedicated in November 1960. It was Dr. Larry Dixon, an outstanding member to the Center Advisory Board who insisted that we apply for $100,000 for the building rather than settle for a $40,000 building. He felt we needed to plan a facility that would provide adequate space for at least twenty years and that it be designed so that it could easily be enlarged. This dream became closer to reality with a gift from the Florence-Darlington Tuberculosis Hospital of five acres of land halfway between Darlington and Florence. This gift was spearheaded by Dr. Kenneth W. Krueger, who was a member of that Board and also a pioneer in the development of the Darlington County Association and Pee Dee Mental Health Center.

The two-county venture was so successful that other multi-county centers developed. Marion County joined the Center in 1964 and the name was changed to Pee Dee Mental Health Center.

In 1961, the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services Act of South Carolina was passed under the leadership of then Senator Earle Morris. This bill further emphasized the thrust of the South Carolina Mental Health Commission toward decentralization and development of strong mental health services in local communities. With the passage of this bill, the advisory boards became administrative boards having responsibility for administering the centers along with the authority to carry out that responsibility.

Unfortunately, there came a reversal of this decentralization thrust with the emphasis and preponderance of funding going to the centralized state hospital facilities. The community mental health centers had to compete with the growing Central office and hospital system for staff and funding. With this “recentralization” of services, the community mental health system lost its original comprehensive intent as it competed for resources.

With the inception in December of 1988 of the “Toward Local Care” concept , movement has begun toward decentralization, toward developing strong, community based mental health centers so that the mentally ill could receive treatment as close to home as possible with as little disruption in their day to day lives, their families, and their jobs as possible.

The Board of Directors and the staff of the Pee Dee Mental Health Center enthusiastically supported this shift “Toward Local Care.” For the past eight years this movement has seen the growth of services provided to more than 2000 clients and families in twelve locations in the three county catchment areas of Darlington, Florence, and Marion counties.

In the mid-1970’s the Florence County Association was directly responsible for overcoming the political roadblocks to getting the funding for the present comprehensive community Mental Health Center. The Florence Morning News won the South Carolina Mental Health Association’s Bellringer Award in 1974 for the best mental health coverage in the state for their support of this community effort.

The Center has experienced phenomenal progress during the past 12 years. When Dr. Charles E. Bevis joined the staff as Executive Director on July 2, 1984, the Center has been without a Director for more than a year and the staff had dwindled to thirty professional and support staff with a caseload of approximately 600 in outpatient clinics in Hartsville, Florence, and Marion. The Center could not begin to meet all the needs of the three county catchment areas.

Reorganization and innovative developments were the hallmark of a new era. One of Dr. Bevis’ first innovations was a small psycho social clubhouse program at the Florence Center with two staff and 12 clients. Slowly the number of staff and clients grew and expansion was necessary. Mid May 1986, an addition was built adjoining the Florence Center to house the clubhouse program and new Structured Intensive Care Program. Clubhouse programs were also started in rented space in Hartsville and in the Marion County Center building.

Beginning in the 1960’s as part of a national movement, large state hospital began downsizing. Patients were returned to their home communities as community mental health centers were being established and new medications were being developed which allowed for patients to be treated outside of hospitals. New medications and treatment modalities have allowed for this process to accelerate in recent years. At Pee Dee Mental Health Center existing programs have become more sophisticated and newer ones have been started to serve the needs of the chronically mentally ill.

Clubhouse programs became known as RILS (Restorative Independent Living Skills). In these programs clients developed self confidence and were moved toward more independence. A job coach program was created to teach job skills and to assist clients in becoming employed.

In the late 1980s a need for decent, safe, affordable housing for chronically mentally ill adults was recognized. The Pee Dee Housing Development Corporation was created in 1989 and was chartered on May 23, 1990 to address the housing needs of mentally ill. In Florence three houses and a duplex were purchased to provide a shared living environment for thirteen consumers. Another house was donated and renovated to provide private apartments for a mother and her family and a private apartment for another consumer. Through a HUD grant twelve apartments to serve the mentally disabled were constructed on the south end of the city. Two of these apartments are reserved for hearing impaired consumers.

In Darlington County, the Darlington County Independent Housing Corporation was formed in 1992 and chartered on June 10, 1994. This corporation owns one house which provides housing to four consumers in two private apartments and one shared living apartment. Both corporations are seeking to develop additional housing units to serve the needs of the mentally disabled in their communities.

An exciting development occurred on August 19, 1985, when a Family Services Program focusing on the needs of children and adolescents was created. Initially it was named Family and Children’s’ Counseling Service. Its rapid growth made additional space and staff essential. On September 25, 1987, this program moved to larger quarters in the Florence Business and Technology Center. One of its programs was Halcyon House, a five bed residential adolescent crisis stabilization facility located in Florence and serving the Pee Dee Region. It was officially opened October 31, 1986, under the aegis of Family and Children’s Counseling Services. There was considerable controversy surrounding the location of Halcyon House because of the NIMBY Syndrome (not in my backyard!)

There was considerable community interest in the difficulty with finding an acceptable location. This brought much attention to the Center and to its Family Services. In October 1992, this program was officially renamed Linda M. Summer Family Services in honor of our first director who had made such valuable contributions through her life-long work with families and children. In August 1994, Linda M. Summer Family Services moved to larger quarters at 500 South Coit Street.

Linda M. Summer Family Services offers outpatient treatment services and a remarkable Family Preservation program in which therapists provide services to families where a child may be in danger of having to be removed from his/her home. Therapists work closely with families in their own homes, with schools and with other community resources to rehabilitate the family, thus keeping the family intact. Halcyon House is also under the aegis of Family Services.

Historically, demands on mental health centers have exceeded their resources. In recent years, for a variety of reasons, that problem became exacerbated. As a consequence, on January 17, 1992, the Center Board developed a new mission statement which set a clear direction for the staff and prioritized the utilization of the available resources. In essence the mission statement states that Center will give priority to serving chronically mentally ill adults, seriously emotionally disturbed children, and the general population as resources allow.

Currently, a major change in the delivery of health care services, away from fee for service to managed care is underway. The manner in which reimbursement occurs in having a major impact on the way health care is delivered. Pee Dee Mental Health Center is preparing itself to be a leader in the delivery of behavioral health care services in a managed care environment. A decision has been made to seek accreditation in order to demonstrate that the Center provides quality mental health services and in order to successfully seek reimbursement for services rendered.

With increased community awareness of the Center and its broad array of services, the client caseload has rapidly grown to over 3000 clients being served in our three county catchment areas.

The Executive Director, Philip C. Bowman, M.D., Ph.D., has played an instrumental role in bringing our three county center together to accomplish our Mission and to increase morale among employees.

Pee Dee Mental Health Center is accredited by CARF, this accreditation outcome, which represents the highest level of accreditation, is awarded to organizations that show substantial fulfillment of the standards established by CARF and clearly indicate that present conditions represent an established pattern of total operations that is likely to be maintained and/or improved in the foreseeable future.

Our Administrative Surveyor: Jill Gomez – said that “Pee DeeMentalHealthCenter has put itself through a rigid peer review process and has demonstrated that its programs, services, and health and safety are of the highest quality, measurable, and accountable”. She also said “that she was very excited about our agency and PDMHC was on the verge of greatness and that our greatest years of service are ahead”.

Our Clinical Surveyor: Donna Branco – said “she could not say enough great things about our agency”. She also said “she was very excited and that our Crisis Intervention Program was perfect”. She said “that she could not get over how much thought, planning, and care has gone into this program and that our clients were very happy with their care and that one client had even said this program had saved her life”.

Both of these women said they “could not say enough great things about this agency”. They said that the “staff, client, and stake holder interviews repeatedly spoke of level of care and concerned each client received”. They said “that the strength of our staff and our Center just spoke volumes and that even though our Center has gone through a number of changes in leadership that, Dr. Bowman has provided well needed stability and that our best days for our Center were certainly ahead”.