As we celebrate Black History Month this February, DHEC would like to take this opportunity to honor the past and present achievements of African Americans who have and are making a difference in Healthcare Quality. 

Charlene Bell

Since 2014, Charlene Bell has been working to make a difference at DHEC. She has held multiple positions, including ​Inspector III and Field Manger. She is now the Director of the Hospitals and Professionals Division of the Bureau of Healthcare Systems and Services.  

She and her team inspect hospitals, birthing centers, abortion clinics and tattoo and body piercing facilities. They also license athletic trainers, hearing aid specialists and midwives. Through education and oversight, her work aims to improve health outcomes and access to safe, quality health care services for South Carolinians.  

Charlene has a BA in psychology with a minor in early childhood education and a background in Applied Behavior Analysis, Nonaversive Behavior support, behavior assessment and emergency management. 

Maude E. Callen
Maude E. Callen served as a nurse-midwife in South Carolina’s Lowcountry for over 60 years, and in her lifetime, she delivered more than 600 babies.   

In 1923, she set up a practice as a nurse-midwife in Pineville. In 1936, she became a public health nurse with the Berkeley County Health Department, and she continued training other African American women as midwives by teaching them about prenatal care, labor support, delivery and newborn babies.   

Life magazine published a photo essay of Callen’s work in 1951, and as a result, readers donated thousands of dollars to support her work in Pineville. She used the donations to open the Maude E. Callen Clinic in 1953, which she ran until she retired in 1971.