Important Notice

To my patients and their families,

After thirty three and a half years at Sandhills, I have decided to begin a new chapter of my career. In January, I will be leaving Sandhills to assume the role of Chief Medical Officer of South Carolina Medicaid.

It has been a great honor to be entrusted with the care of you and your children, and it has been an experience that I will always treasure and could never forget. I have even known and served many of your families for multiple generations, and that has been a special pleasure indeed. I could never have had the opportunity to be your pediatrician without the support from the staff and other physicians at Sandhills and our administrative team at the South Carolina Pediatric Alliance. The understanding, sacrifice, and loving support of my own family, especially my wife and children, has also been essential. I will now have more time to spend with, and take care of, my own family, which I’m sure all of you would appreciate and understand.

Medicaid covers almost sixty percent of the children in South Carolina. In my new role, I will enjoy the opportunity to have a positive impact on so many more families than I could ever have even known at Sandhills, and I certainly hope that I can do so, and I am excited by this new challenge

Still, good byes are often sad, and this goodbye is sad for me indeed. I will miss all of you, as well as my work family. I will especially miss the daily joy of interacting with children, as children typically bring out the best in all of us.

The Sandhills family wants you to be assured that they will still be there for you and yours after my departure at the end of December. For all of my patients that are under twenty-one years of age, any of the doctors at Sandhills will be available to become your doctor. If you are over twenty one years of age, it is now time for you to transition to an adult oriented physician who can get to know you now as you develop into adults with adult medical needs.

We will also have a new physician, Dr. Michelle Manka-Black joining Sandhills Pediatrics in January. She has over twenty years of pediatric experience and is relocating to Columbia at the end of December. She will be working at the Sandhills downtown office where I have always worked, and will be available to assume your care. At least initially, she will be the one who reviews any communications from specialists and others that are addressed to me, and ensuring that the treatment plans that I set into place for you are being carried out. However, please feel free to let us know if you prefer to transition to one of our current doctors instead the next time you need to schedule an appointment.

I wish you all nothing but the best in the future, and pray for your good health and success.

Sincerely,
Kevin O. Wessinger MD, FAAP