Jean B Purvis Community Health Clinic

The Community Health Clinic of Butler County was founded by Jean Purvis, the wife of a doctor here in Butler. While on vacation in Hilton Head, South Carolina, Jean saw an ad in the local paper, “Thank you for a day of caring - Volunteers in Medicine”. The ad sparked her curiosity. Jean visited the Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) clinic. There she learned about Dr. Jack McConnell and how he founded the first VIM clinic in the country.

Dr. McConnell found that many people living on Hilton Head Island had no access to health care or to medications. Wondering why no one did anything about the problem, Dr. McConnell quickly realized that HE should be that someone. Dr. McConnell recruited retired doctors, nurses and other volunteers to provide health care services to those in need at no cost. The first Volunteers in Medicine opened on Hilton Head in 1994 and has been a successful model for many other clinics across the country - 94 as of April 2021!

The CHC provides no-cost health care to individuals who are uninsured or underinsured in the Butler and surrounding areas. We offer medical, basic dental, behavioral health, vision and dermatology. The CHC has provided medical care to over 12,000 individuals, provided $4 million dollars in free medication to our patients and served almost 2,000 patients in dental. The Community Health Center could not serve without the help of our volunteers, who have provided over 65,000 hours in service to our patients.

The services we provide at CHC are made possible by many, many dedicated volunteers – doctors, nurses, dentists, hygienists, educators, dietitians, social workers, clerical staff, etc. and the generosity of our community and donors. Our goal is to provide primary healthcare services - services that are needed to keep our patients healthy so they can care for their families, continue to work and be productive members of the community.