For Immediate Release
February 1, 2008

 

Marketing Strategies, Inc.

Denise Blackburn, APR or Sarah George, APR

  

Pat Montgomery, a native South Carolinian and a woman who feels she was “born to make a difference” is certain to make a difference in the lives of thousands of women through her role as Coordinator/Case Manager of A Woman’s Place, a health initiative of Marion Regional Healthcare System.

 

Her love and dedication to the healthcare field, her intense motivation and discipline coupled with years of practical experience, are strengths she feels will help her “hit the ground running”.  She will need such a background in a position where the roles will include those of researcher, educator, and most importantly, communicator.  Pat Montgomery will wear many hats.

 

What Montgomery brings to the position is being on common ground with the women she serves. She understands the importance of good healthcare, a sound education and the love and support of family and friends.

 

She understands the role of today’s woman—the struggles—the triumphs—and the journey. 

 

Montgomery, who was born in Nichols, South Carolina graduated from Green Sea Floyds High School. She obtained her LPN from Aynor Career Center and worked as a Licensed Practical Nurse for over a decade before obtaining her Associate Degree in Nursing from Horry-Georgetown Technical College. 

 

After a few years of experience as an RN, she returned to Horry-Georgetown Technical College and received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, (BSN), through an extension program with the University of South Carolina.

 

With 17 years of healthcare experience, Montgomery has traded her nurses’ uniform for a business suit—more suitable attire for a woman whose days will initially be filled by meetings with physicians, hospital administrators and support staff as she continues to develop a program which just may be “Marion County’s best kept secret”.

 

Since its inception well over a year ago, A Woman’s Place has grown into a dynamic virtual network dedicated to improving the health and the lives of women of all ages through education and early intervention. With both a limited budget and staff, the program needed a boost.  Through a three-year grant from the Duke Endowment, Marion County Medical Center got the funds it needed for A Woman’s Place, and Pat Montgomery got a chance to realize her dream of “making a difference”.

 

The Duke Endowment grant will allow for the expansion of A Woman’s Place creating opportunities for women to receive accessible, preventative care by providing adequate and early prenatal care to include education and benefits of breastfeeding and also to increase the number of women who receive mammograms.

 

In addition, the program will enhance the lives of women by providing:

 

•More bone density exams to offset the debilitating effects of osteoporosis,

 

•An incontinence program specifically designed to meet the physical and emotional needs of an aging female population,

 

•Less invasive colorectal exams through the use of smaller endoscopes specifically designed for women who have had hysterectomies and reconstructive pelvic surgery,

 

While all of these areas are important, Montgomery agrees that the focus is on the improvement of health for mothers and babies, and breast health for women of all ages.  These are the program’s cornerstones.

 

In her role as Coordinator, Montgomery will compile research—important health facts on the women of Marion County and the Pee Dee—comparing data to state and national findings to determine ways to improve both health initiatives and the end result. She will educate her peers and constituents on the importance of women’s health, and she will be the sounding board for women throughout the Pee Dee and the surrounding areas.  A Woman’s Place will know no boundaries.  It will welcome women of all ages, all income levels, and all cultural and social backgrounds.  It will be as diverse as the population it serves.