Lumberton is a small town in the great state of Mississippi. It is a part of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Metroplitan Statistical area. Most of the city is in Lamar County, with a small portion extending east into adjacent Pearl River County. The city was named for the local lumber industry. The land was founded in the late 1700s and was used as a lumber yard. Employment at that time was at it’s very high. People from a far came to look for jobs and land to keep.
“Lumberton's estimated population is 2,199 according to the most recent United States census estimates. Lumberton is the 96th largest city in Mississippi based on official 2017 estimates from the US Census Bureau.” (WPR) The average age in Lumberton is 35 years for males and 33 years for females. The racial composition of Lumberton is 52.04% of African American, 45.46% White, and there are 2.50% other races. The two main school districts in Lumberton are Lamar County School District and Lumberton Public School District. The average number of children in each class range from about 50-70. Each class was very small, but they have a very high graduation rate. 85% of students who graduate from Lumberton attend a university and graduate with a bachelor's degree.
There were 829 households out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were married couples living together, 25.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.17. In the city, the population was spread out with 31.7% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $23,178, and the median income for a family was $26,603. Males had a median income of $26,563 versus $16,821 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,384. About 23.2% of families and 30.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.7% of those under age 18 and 29.3% of those age 65 or over.
Lumberton Family Health Center is the main medical facility and hospital in the town of Lumberton. The clinic offers annual checkups, comprehensive exams, general medical care, physicals, health screenings and more. The clinic is located on 598 W 11th Ave in Lumberton. They have two main doctors at the clinic who work 8-hour days, 6 days a week. Something I liked that the clinic has is an emergency room. You don't see that often in a health and wellness center. My thought is, is that the clinic chose to have an emergency room because of how small the town is. One thing I can take away from visiting this clinic was that it had a conference room for staff to meet or for a doctor to privately meet with his/her patients. (Lumberton Field Trip 2020)
Image from Google maps, Lumberton, MS
My goal for this project is to create a healthcare clinic that is safe and inviting for the people of Lumberton. To achieve this goal, my walk in clinic will need to be accessible to people of all ages and also very inexpensive. My first goal for this clinic is to create a warm and comfortable space for patients, beginning with the fabric on the chairs, color on the walls and even a few art pieces through out the clinic. Seating throughout the waiting area will be sectioned into two sections. One for the sick and one for the non-sick. My second goal for this clinic is to incorporate an emergency center inside of the clinic. With the city of hattiesburg being 30 minutes away, I think Lumberton would appreciate a 24-hour emergency clinic near by. My third goal is to design a space for children to come and play while waiting for the doctor. Adding a play room and a fun interactive space for kids to enjoy will relieve stress from the parents and make their experience at the doctor easier. I hope to create a space this community can enjoy and be useful to those in need.
RESOURCES
World Population Review, (2019), Retrieved From http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/lumberton-ms-population/
Southeast MS Rural Health Initiative, (2020) Retrieved From https://www.semrhi.com
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