Pediatrician honored with Limitless Impact Award

Dr. Deborah M. Greenhouse has been recognized with the Limitless Impact Award presented by Limitless Purpose, a statewide nonprofit organization working to help all children grow, learn and thrive.

“Dr. Greenhouse is a true advocate for all children, and she has dedicated many hours outside of her medical practice focusing on improving access to healthcare and services for children and young people,” said Padgett Mozingo, president and cofounder of Limitless Purpose. “No one cares more about our children than Dr. Greenhouse.”

Whether seeing her patients at Palmetto Pediatrics, mentoring medical students as they observe her work, or being the voice of children on local, state or national efforts, Dr. Greenhouse has impacted countless lives and families during her 32-year career.

She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a past president of the South Carolina Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and she remains very active in the organization on both state and national levels. She is the South Carolina Chapter Coordinator for the PROS (Pediatric Research in Office Settings) research network of the AAP.

A native of Rockaway, New Jersey, Greenhouse received her undergraduate degree from Clemson University, earned her medical degree from Emory University, and completed her pediatrics residency at Richland Memorial Hospital.

“I have been in pediatric practice for over 30 years and have cared for thousands of children. One of the most important things that I have learned is that no child should ever be defined by a diagnosis. Every child should have access to the resources, the services and the health care that they need to succeed. Only then will every child be limitless and able to reach their maximum potential,” Greenhouse said. “I have seen this play out time and again. Children can achieve more than we can possibly imagine if we give them the tools and support that they need. This is what Limitless Purpose does so well. And on behalf of so many of my patients, I am incredibly grateful for them.”

Dr. Greenhouse is the fifth recipient of the Limitless Impact Award from Limitless Purpose, founded in 2019 and inspired by the story of Lila Mozingo and her family’s efforts to have her taught in an inclusive learning environment. Because of their own struggle with the systems and services intended to serve their daughter, they wanted to do something to help other families.

“From the day we received Lila’s diagnosis of Down syndrome, all we heard were the limits she would face,” said Padgett Mozingo, Lila’s mom. “But we chose to believe Lila could be limitless if we loved, supported and challenged her.”

Unfortunately, according to Mozingo, getting others to see Lila as limitless is more challenging. Often, the systems intended to serve her actually hinder her.

“Our world has just started to see the value of people like Lila, people who look or learn differently but still have so much to add to our communities,” Mozingo said. “Great strides are being made toward including those like Lila, but there is much work to be done before true acceptance happens for every child.”

Limitless Purpose is a volunteer-led organization celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. To date, it has:

~Hosted free annual events for children and their families with free entertainment, refreshments and access to useful resources.
Monthly Fun with Friends events were added during the summer of 2024 to allow families time to come together and fellowship.

~Awarded nearly $120,000 in learning incentives to help more than 437 children and teens with intellectual disabilities experience a summer camp or other opportunity that helps them continue to thrive.

~Placed almost 37,000 books in the hands of children and families who need them most through partnerships with schools, pediatricians and Limitless Libraries to date.

“While we have come so far,” said Mozingo, “there is still much work to be done toward true inclusion and acceptance of those who look or learn differently.”

Inaugural sponsors include: The Arc of South Carolina; Children’s Charities of the Midlands; BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina; 100 Women Who Care Midlands, SC; Columbia Printing & Graphics; Mark Mozingo, Keller Williams Realty; Team Therapy, SC; Resource Financial Mortgages; Purposeful Play; Sprout Pediatrics, LLC; and Bright Start, LLC.

Visit LimitlessPurpose.org or contact Padgett Mozingo at [email protected] for details.

Limitless Purpose is a statewide nonprofit organization helping ALL children grow, learn and thrive.