By John Carruthers, staff writer, American Academy of Dermatology
Raising funds for community health care can be a difficult proposition under the most forgiving of circumstances. For Rock Hill, S.C., dermatologist Timothy Woodall, MD, the challenge is to raise those funds in a poor rural community. As a member of the board of the Union County Healthcare Foundation for seven years — six of those as chairman — he has been tasked with raising funds for the hospital district, emergency services, and local nursing homes. Dr. Woodall has spent that time outperforming expectations.
“Serving others like this, it’s what my parents raised me to do.”
Union County, made up of former mill towns located in the north of the state, consistently struggles with high unemployment; the October 2011 rate reached 16.7 percent. Despite this, Dr. Woodall has managed to raise over $750,000 for county health services during his time heading the foundation’s fundraising.
“When I was asked to serve on the board, it was a no-brainer. I can raise money for a number of different causes, and it all goes into the community. It makes a lot of sense for me as a physician.”
One of Dr. Woodall’s largest projects was raising funds for the purchase of a state-of-the-art rescue vehicle, which can transmit EKG data to the local emergency room and is also able to affect a river rescue if necessary.
Apart from his work with the foundation, Dr. Woodall also undertakes fundraising and volunteerism through his local church. He put on a golf tournament to purchase a water filtration system for a Haitian village stricken with cholera.
“Every Thanksgiving, my family used to work with local churches to feed the needy. My parents were always very involved with different charity organizations. There was no epiphany, it’s just what I’ve always done, and it’s been immensely satisfying.”