As the leader behind medical inventions as remarkable as the TB Tyne test, Tylenol, and the MRI, Jack McConnell's retirement to Hilton Head Island could have been the beginning of a well-deserved rest. Instead, he felt compelled to help the medically underserved population of the island. McConnell saw the enormous chasm that existed on the island-abject poverty on one side and enormous wealth on the other-and wondered how the 8,000-10,000 working poor could afford good medical care. And so McConnell conceived of a clinic staffed by retired physicians, nurses, dentists, and lay people that would provide high-quality free medical care to the community. For two years, he worked tirelessly to make his vision a reality. He persuaded the South Carolina legislature to pass a bill to create a special volunteer license, allowing retired physicians to practice medicine at the clinic without having to sit for or pay for the state's licensing exam. He also obtained unlimited malpractice insurance for clinic volunteers. After raising the necessary capital to build and equip the clinic, the Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) Clinic opened its doors. Its volunteer staff, which includes 54 physicians, 57 nurses, 4 dentists, and 150 lay volunteers, has since treated 7,000 patients, and 500 cities nationwide have requested information on replicating the VIM model, with 10 actually already in existence. McConnell sums up the success of the clinic by saying, "It's a win-win situation that costs nothing-just to give of yourself. It's one of the most beautiful and enriching things we can do."
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