Since the merge of three groups into one, the Sumter-Clarendon-Lee Medical Society has been more than just a professional organization — it has been a steadfast community for physicians dedicated to advancing quality patient care and improving working conditions in medicine.
Archive records confirm that the individual groups met as early as 1909, and regularly joined together. So, the shift from three medical societies into one was a natural one.
What sets this medical society apart is its legacy of leadership. Many of its members have risen to prominent state-level positions, shaping healthcare policy and championing initiatives that benefit both patients and providers. Their influence extends beyond county lines, reinforcing the society’s long-standing commitment to excellence in medicine and public health.
Several Sumter-Clarendon-Lee Medical Society (SCLMS) members served as president of the South Carolina Medical Association (SCMA). The list includes S.C. Baker, MD, a general surgeon from Sumter in 1909, Norman Eaddy, MD, an ophthalmologist from Sumter, in 1969, and J. Capers Hiott, MD, an otolaryngologist in Wedgefield, in 2003. Current SCMA president M. Mayes DuBose, MD, is also a member of SCLMS.
“As small as we are, this society has been one of the most influential medical societies in the state,” said Dr. Jim Ingram, who has served as president for the Sumter-Clarendon-Lee Medical Society as well as a parliamentarian and member of the state medical association for many years.
“I’ve seen a lot of opportunities for a physician to affect what the medical society does, what the medical society contributes to the State Medical Association, and what its elected trustee can do,” Dr. Ingram added. “When physicians meet collectively for social, educational, and from a legislative standpoint, they become part of a very important instrument as leaders in the community and with regard to their connection to the State Medical Association.”
Initially, the SCLMS’s mission was to garner respect and support for physicians and honor their history and achievements while advancing the profession locally, statewide, and nationally — an emphasis which continues today.
The group’s formal purpose statement still guides the organization today. The statement confirms the goal to bring together physicians of the three counties “so that by frequent meetings and full and frank interchange of views they may secure such intelligent unity and harmony in every phase of their labor as will elevate and make effective the opinions of the profession in all scientific, legislative, public health, material, and social affairs.”
At its peak, nearly 100 physicians were members of SCLMS. The current leadership is working to reach that member total again.
Each year, the society hosts three or four informational meetings with guest speakers who present on relevant industry topics. The group also advocates on behalf of members and residents and promotes research opportunities by sponsoring poster presentation entry fees for residents at the state annual meeting, according to Lisa Heichberger, MD, McLeod Family Medicine Rural Residency Program site director and a former SCLMS president.
“We have a network of fellow physicians that work in the area or nearby who members can learn from, feed off of, rely on if they need specialty help or have expertise outside of what they do in their practice,” explains Laine Way, MD, current SCLMA president. “I think that interpersonal relationships that develop are important and having small group, more directed discussions can also be beneficial.”
The calendar year culminates in a holiday party, held the second Thursday each December at O’Donnell House in Sumter. The event is more social in nature, celebrating the group and introducing the new slate of officers for the next calendar year.
Another main focus of the Sumter-Clarendon-Lee Medical Society is to serve as a resource for residents, in support of the counties’ two residency programs, Prisma Health Tuomey in Sumter and McLeod Health Clarendon in Manning.
“A lot of our outreach with the residents is making sure they’re involved with the medical society in some way, shape, or form,” notes Way, a family medicine specialist with McLeod Health in Clarendon and a faculty member of the McLeod Family Residency Program. “Whether that’s attending the meetings that we have or going to the annual state meeting, we’re committed to making sure that they’re plugged in with us at some point during their residency careers and they can take advantage of the opportunity to meet and connect with practicing physicians in our area.”
Way, who is board certified in family medicine and a diplomate of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine, was herself active in the society as a resident and also was a recipient of a scholarship from the organization. The chapter awards up to $3,000 in scholarships to residents and nursing students each year, and the SCLMS Alliance donates up to $1,200 each year for Central Carolina Technical College nursing scholarships.
“It’s great to come full circle, now, as president of the medical society after all these years,” she says.
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Hamptons Restaurant
33 N. Main Street, Sumter
Speaker: TBA
Thursday, December 11, 2025
O’Donnell House
120 E. Liberty Street, Sumter
Holiday party
