20 Aug Volunteers in Medicine Hilton Head Island Helps Immunize School Children

Volunteers in Medicine Hilton Head Island nurses were on call at the Hilton Head Middle School for the first day of classes on August 19 to immunize 37 children who would not otherwise be able to attend school without the Tdap immunization.  Tdap is a vaccine that helps children develop immunity to three deadly diseases caused by bacteria: diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough).  The booster immunization is required by the Middle School for school attendance.  VIM HHI is committed to keeping the community healthy by keeping adults at work and children in school.

Volunteers in Medicine HHI currently serves over 27,000 patient visits each year and provides 23 medical specialties and five disease management clinics for those patients with chronic disease such as diabetes and hypertension.  The clinic provides free medical, dental, mental health, vision and prescription drug care for those residents of the community who live and or work on Hilton Head or Daufuskie Island, earn less than 200% of federal poverty levels and are underinsured or uninsured. VIM is the model for 88 free health clinics throughout the country. Funding is through grants and donations. VIM neither seeks nor accepts government support.

Volunteers in Medicine Clinic provides a “safety net” for our community continues and is more important today than ever before. New patients are added on a daily basis and current patients receive treatment as we fulfill our mission: to understand and serve the health and wellness needs of the medically underserved population and their households, living and/or working on Hilton Head and Daufuskie Islands.