Volunteers in Medicine Hilton Head: The Free Clinic

• Cost: free
• Opened: 1993
• Volunteers: 550
• Patient visits: about 25,000 a year

What the Free Clinic Offers

Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of Hilton Head Island opened in 1993, started by retired doctors, nurses and dentists who wanted to keep practicing part-time for people who had no access to care. Today it offers 26 medical specialties and five disease management clinics, with family practice, internal medicine, women’s health, lab work, X-ray, ultrasound, vision, mental health, a pharmacy and a wellness center. Every service is free, and about 550 active volunteers staff it.

The main clinic is at 15 Northridge Drive on the north end of the island, on the same street as the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry. The dental clinic is a few minutes away at 20 Palmetto Parkway, and the clinic also runs a small clinic on Daufuskie Island in the Helmus Building at 641 Haig Point Road.

Who Qualifies for the Free Clinic

The clinic serves people who live or work on Hilton Head or Daufuskie Island and either have no health insurance or can’t afford medical care; its own eligibility line puts the limit at 200 percent of the poverty line. That includes people who work on the island but live elsewhere. For island employers and vacation rental managers, it is a place to point housekeepers, maintenance crews and other uninsured staff to.

At registration each adult in the household brings a valid ID such as a driver’s license, passport or visa, proof of address such as a utility bill or a copy of the lease, and proof of income, which is one month of pay stubs. Each household member needs their own documents.

How to Become a Patient

The registration office no longer takes walk-ins. New patients, and returning patients who need to renew, make an appointment, and registration runs Tuesday to Friday by appointment only. Three ways to book:

• Text (843) 715-4850. That number takes texts only.

• Call (843) 681-6612 and dial extension 250.

• Email registration@vimclinic.org, or fill in the patient application on the clinic’s website.

For other health care on the island, see Hilton Head hospitals and urgent care.

Volunteering at Volunteers in Medicine

The clinic needs licensed clinicians and people with no medical training. Clinical roles are physicians, dental professionals, mental health providers, nurses and pharmacists. Non-clinical roles are receptionists, greeters, schedulers, interpreters and other support jobs. Volunteers commit to at least three months a year.

To start, you:

• Schedule a tour by emailing VolunteerInterestTour@vimclinic.org.

• Submit the clinical or non-clinical application.

• Attend a volunteer interview and an orientation.

• Shadow someone in the role you will fill, then join the team.

New volunteers also take a tuberculosis test through the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and sign confidentiality and code of conduct agreements. Questions go to (843) 681-6612.

Giving to the Clinic

Gifts go online through the clinic’s donation page or by check to Volunteers in Medicine, P.O. Box 23858, Hilton Head Island, SC 29925. Its McConnell Legacy Society handles planned gifts, and its Companies That Care program is for businesses. The clinic says more than 93 percent of the money it receives goes to patient care. Donors who prefer to give through a fund can do so with the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry.