Benefiting Prisma Health Children’s Hospital—Midlands
Your donation to the Norton Family Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Program Endowment will accelerate the growth of the POCUS Program at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital—Midlands. The program is led by Duncan Norton, MD, MS, FAAP, assistant professor of Pediatrics and a pediatric hospitalist. Dr. Norton is fellowship-trained in pediatrics and primary care ultrasound and is involved in teaching medical students and residents in point-of-care ultrasound.
The Endowment was established in honor of Dr. Norton by Kelly Willenberg, a Fripp Island/Greenville resident, business owner and philanthropist. Dr. Norton is also Willenberg’s son-in-law. Willenberg’s generosity has benefited Prisma Health Children’s Hospitals in both the Midlands and Upstate. In 2017, her husband, Dale, was killed in a hit and run cycling accident. He died just before their granddaughter was born with a congenital heart defect. In 2019, Willenberg established The Dale A. Willenberg Congenital Heart Defect Endowment Fund, leading to the founding of Camp Heart-to-Heart for Prisma Health patients ages 6–12 with cardiology conditions. The camp debuted in 2022.
Read about Willenberg’s unprecedented gift in 2025 to the POCUS program.
POCUS is a promising tool in the Children’s Hospital setting. With advancements in technology, ultrasound imaging no longer needs to be housed in bulky machines that need their own room in the hospital. Rather, ultrasound can be performed with small handheld devices. Providers can bring ultrasound to the patient’s bedside, increasing its usefulness as a rapid diagnostic test. “Point-of-care ultrasound allows us to obtain real-time information at a child’s bedside, rather than having to schedule a test for a later time,” said Dr. Norton. “It allows our team to make a diagnosis in a more efficient manner and involve the child’s parents in the diagnosis, addressing their questions in the moment.”
Donations will help fund training for providers as well as technology and equipment needs of the program.