If the medical profession is already known for its unique challenges and demands, few can attest to it more than Dr. Paul Drago. An otolaryngology specialist and surgeon, the doctor has spent the past three years at the Turbeville Department of Corrections in Turbeville, South Carolina in a job he himself referred to as “challenging, but worthwhile.” Located in Clarendon County, Turbeville’s primary characteristic is its correctional facility, leaving it to hardly be a highly prized place in which to build a home and profession. For Dr. Paul Drago, however, the challenge was one he greeted with enthusiasm.

Having worked in many locations, the doctor could undoubtedly have had his choice of many an area, but Turbeville called to him specifically because it proved to be a unique and refreshing challenge. The correctional facility, which hosts exclusively male offenders sentenced under the Youthful Offenders Act, has been in operation since 1994 and is a Level 2 security facility. Many of the youths who find themselves in Turbeville are, for the most part, instructed to take part in public works projects in the area. Providing educational opportunities to those housed there, the facility also provides medical care, thereby drawing Dr. Paul Drago to investigate what he could do to help. Eager to work with those who might otherwise be considered unfavorable, the doctor insists he enjoyed the challenges of the job and that he found some comfort in being able to give back to those who might otherwise have been abandoned by society.

Though he is now headed elsewhere and is expanding his sights within the medical profession, Dr. Paul Drago appears to have greatly benefitted from his time in Turbeville, where the correctional facility has enabled him to better comprehend and appreciate the necessity of health care for all. Where some would have shrunk from the challenge, Dr. Paul Drago rose to meet it, proving, as he has time and time again, that doctors truly can make a difference in the lives of their patients. His effort and service will not be forgotten and his patients will miss his earnest, straightforward, and kindly manner.