What Does BIFMC Offer? A Perspective from a Volunteer Physician. July 14, 2025

By Pat Kelly, MD

“BIFMC delivers profound benefits to both individuals and the broader community. With the services we provide, the clinic helps detect and address health issues before they become severe and costly. … Furthermore, it promotes health equity by ensuring that underserved populations have access to essential care, fostering a healthier, more resilient society.”

I retired from the practice of Emergency Medicine in 2023 after a 30+ year career with Roper Emergency Physicians. I’ve described my training as one which taught me to emergently stabilize and resuscitate anyone that presented to the Emergency Department. I treated people from all socioeconomic backgrounds in all sorts of disarray. Included in these folks were patients who did not have regular access to a physician, patients who made poor life choices, and those with uncontrolled chronic diseases, to name just a few.

The ED truly serves as the safety net for healthcare, in that we do not turn anyone away from care. Many of these patients require follow up care, and free clinics such as the Barrier Islands Clinic fill that void.

The benefit of the BIFMC goes beyond that and truly is multifactorial. It provides a medical home for those who qualify financially, and do not have access to health insurance. Many of our patients work full-time, either through one job or multiple jobs combined together. Through no fault of their own, they either are not offered any health insurance through their employers or cannot afford it. Once they establish care at BIFMC, patients receive initial physical exams, are provided access to free lab and x-ray diagnostics as needed, provided access to a wide selection of vaccines, access to cancer screenings (PSA, PAP smears, colonoscopies), and are counselled regarding chronic disease management including life style modifications. Through Welvista, we are able to provide our patients access to a wide array of free pharmaceutical drugs, and we have some drug samples (including OTC meds) that can be dispensed directly from the clinic. There are 16 on-site specialists, that include orthopedics, ophthalmology, OB/GYN, ENT, plastic surgery, urology, psychiatry and dermatology. We have bilingual capabilities via professional staff members who interpret or with television monitors that can connect directly with interpreters.

BIFMC delivers profound benefits to both individuals and the broader community. With the services we provide, the clinic helps detect and address health issues before they become severe and costly. This proactive approach not only improves patient outcomes and quality of life, but also reduces the strain on emergency services and hospitals. Furthermore, it promotes health equity by ensuring that underserved populations have access to essential care, fostering a healthier, more resilient society.

I’m thrilled to be a part of this organization. I have one request from our patients: send us your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and parishioners in the Tri-County who need to establish medical care and have lacked insurance that would enable them to establish a medical home. We look forward to serving you.

Barrier Islands Free Medical Clinic is a free clinic in Charleston, SC, that provides free medical care to eligible patients, just like any family practitioner or internist. The Free Clinic serves uninsured adults living at or below 299% of the federal poverty level who live or work across Charleston, Berkeley or Dorchester counties. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.