Important Update on BIFMC’s Response to COVID-19 January 9, 2022

NEW: COVID-19 PROTOCOL FOR PATIENTS

*Currently, all individuals with COVID-19 symptoms will be tested prior to entering the Clinic. Proper masking must be worn inside at all times and is available onsite if needed.

● Unvaccinated individuals:
-Need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 24 hours OR be tested on site prior to entering the clinic.

● Vaccinated individuals:
– Need to show proof of vaccination.
– If a vaccinated but showing COVD-19 symptoms, a rapid test will be administered onsite prior to entering the Clinic.

To Our BIFMC Patients, Volunteers and Supporters,

We hope this letter finds you and your loved ones healthy and safe. Please know that we will continue to keep you informed via our website news and social media presence, and we invite you to follow these sources of information for any important community updates. We want to share with you what the Clinic is doing in order to maintain the health and safety of our immediate community, as well as communicate how we may work together going forward to ensure the Clinic’s success in serving uninsured adults across the Barrier Islands and Charleston.

Barrier Islands Free Medical Clinic is fully open, taking all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our patients and staff, including routine sanitization and screening. 100% of Clinic staff and volunteers are vaccinated against COVID-19. As needed, we now provide telemedicine access for patients to continue to receive access to quality health care and necessary prescriptions from home in the event they are unable to visit the Clinic directly. We are actively consulting with patients over the telephone, writing prescriptions, obtaining non-generic medications and assisting them with the virtual screenings at MUSC and Roper St. Francis for any concerns surrounding COVID-19. Over the months to come we will continue to reassess the CDC guidelines and adjust clinic operations accordingly, and provide COVID-19 vaccination clinics as resources become available.

We have been working diligently to stay abreast of the COVID-19 updates while we collaborate with our local hospitals and free clinics. We promised our patients we would be here for them for years to come and our commitment to this mission is stronger than ever. Your long term support of the clinic, along with other generous donors, is allowing us to weather this storm for the foreseeable future, and our gratitude to you is immense. 

As we anticipate a surge in our patient population over the coming months – particularly as our own hospitality community confronts new financial uncertainty – we ask you to keep us in mind as you look to ways you can help. All donations can be made securely via www.bifmc.org, and we are grateful for any amount you can provide that will better prepare our Clinic to meet the new demands of this unprecedented event.

Those who are able are also encouraged to donate any extra non perishables or personal hygiene supplies to our Clinic Blessing Box, which is being accessed daily and in great volume. Those interested are asked to please call the clinic in advance at 843-266-9800 to let us know you are heading by, and can place any donations at the front door of the Clinic so that we may stock as needed.

Thank you for continuing to support Barrier Islands Medical Clinic; we hope that you and your loved ones keep in good health. As always, we are indebted to the medical community who give of themselves to ensure the well being of others, including the many who walk through our clinic doors each week to treat hundreds of uninsured and at-risk adults.

Be Well,

David Dunlap, BIFMC Board Chair

David Peterseim, MD, Medical Director

Brenda Falls, Clinic Director