Skip to content
  • University Home
  • Academics
  • Admissions
  • Campus Life
  • Research
  • About
  • Apply
  • Giving
Clemson News

Clemson News

  • Topics
    • OUR Clemson
    • Impact and Innovation
    • Student Success
    • Faculty and Staff Achievements
    • Alumni Accomplishments
    • All Stories
    • Clemson In The News
    • Richardson Challenge
    • Celebrating Our Graduates
  • Colleges
    • College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences
    • College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities
    • College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences
    • College of Education
    • College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences
    • College of Science
    • Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business
  • Divisions
    • Office of the President
    • Office of the Provost
    • Advancement
    • Marketing and Communications
    • Clemson Computing Information Technology
    • External Affairs
    • Finance and Operations
    • Inclusion and Equity
    • Public Service and Agriculture
    • Research
    • Student Affairs
    • Athletics
  • For Journalists
    • Our Experts
Clemson.edu Resources
  • University Home
  • Academics
  • Admissions
  • Campus Life
  • Research
  • About
College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences

New primary care Clemson Rural Health primary care clinic opens in Walhalla

Share:

Two men talk inside a new mobile health clinic unit operated by Clemson Rural Health
Download image
September 29, 2022January 11, 2023

‘Mission-driven’ outreach program expands its decade-long presence in Oconee County to a full-time facility focused on treating chronic disease

The Clemson Health Clinic at Walhalla (CHC-W) celebrated its grand opening and ribbon-cutting on September 29, 2022, marking the expansion of Clemson Rural Health’s outreach to South Carolina, both through fixed health care facilities and mobile health units. Elected and appointed officials hailed the opening as transformative, both for the long-abandoned building that the clinic now occupies and for the lives that will be changed by virtue of its services.

Tours of Clemson Rural Health's new health clinic at introduced the facility to the Walhalla community with tours during a grand-opening event in September 2022. A Clemson nurse speaks to a woman taking a tour.

Clemson Rural Health is part of the Clemson University College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences, and the CHC-W has had a presence in Walhalla for almost a decade. An extension of the University’s land-grant mission, the clinic began as a mobile health unit site for uninsured, expecting mothers. The College’s partnership with Oconee County has, with the new clinic, evolved into a full-time, fully staffed primary care facility that services the entire community and focuses on treating chronic diseases for a diverse population.

“A lot of universities will do something for three years and go away. We’re here to stay,” Ron Gimbel, a Clemson University professor in the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences and director of Clemson Rural Health, told attendees at the late-morning event. “We’re a part of Main Street and this is our home, and we’re here for the long haul to support this community.”

South Carolina Rural Health: By the Numbers

– About 726,012 South Carolinians live in rural areas.
– 34% of patients served by Clemson Rural Health belong to underrepresented minority groups.
– Mobile health units reached 1,490 patients from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022.

In 2022, Clemson Rural Health:
– Had 6,927 patient visits.
– Served 30 counties.
– Provided 11,000 hours of student clinical experience.
– Identified 81 patients with hepatitis C; 52 are on the path to full recovery.

The grand opening and ribbon-cutting event marks the beginning of a new chapter for Clemson Rural Health, highlighting several of the partnerships that make continued outreach possible. The event included tours of the brick-and-mortar clinic and its brand-new mobile health clinic, plus free blood pressure checks, a healthy cooking demonstration, giveaways and refreshments provided by local 313 Café.

Two men talk inside a new mobile health clinic unit operated by Clemson Rural Health

Rural vs. urban

There are 17 urban counties and 29 rural counties in South Carolina.

Number of physicians (2019):
– Urban: 12,050.
– Rural: 997.
Number of nurse practitioners (2020):
– Urban: 3,956.
– Rural: 547.

Source: South Carolina Health Professions Data Book, 2021

South Carolina State Sen. Thomas C. Alexander, Oconee County Council chairman John Elliot, and Clemson professor and director of Clemson Rural Health Ron Gimbel were among those who worked toward the clinic’s opening and spoke at the event.

“Access to care and availability of care is the very foundation of a community,” Sen. Alexander said, adding that Clemson has had a presence in Walhalla for 10 years, but the clinic elevates the University’s work to the “next level.”



Access to care and availability of care is the very foundation of a community.

State Sen. Thomas Alexander, District 1
Sen. Thomas Alexander speaks into a microphone at a podium while about 20 people look on with a Clemson mobile health unit in the background.
Sen. Thomas Alexander speaks at the ribbon-cutting for the new Clemson Health Clinic at Walhalla.

“Today represents the best of collaboration — the county, all of county council and the University,” Sen. Alexander said. “Also to have this site with telehealth capabilities, connecting patients with experts across the state and taking a building that had laid dormant and making this a useable, useful facility brought back to life with a mission of providing health resources — it is amazing.”

Oconee County Council Chairman John Elliott recalled early efforts to make the clinic a reality and described it as a dream fulfilled for many.

More information about the future of the CHC-W and Clemson Rural Health’s impact on the state of South Carolina can be found in the 2022 Fiscal Year Impact Report.

Health Care Facilities in Rural South Carolina

South Carolina covers 30,109 square miles, with a 2021 estimated population of nearly 5.2 million people; 726,012 of those live in rural South Carolina, per the USDA Economic Research Service. As of April 2022, South Carolina had:
– 4 critical-access hospitals.
– 99 rural health clinics.
– 119 federally qualified health center sites located outside of urbanized areas.
– 26 short-term hospitals located outside of urbanized areas.
A ribbon-cutting and grand opening ceremony was held for the new Clemson Health Clinic at Walhalla, expanding the outreach and impact of Clemson Rural Health in South Carolina.

Related Posts

Environmental portrait beneath a tree of Caitlin Kickham, the associate director of clinical operations for Clemson Rural Health.

Serving global populations in South Carolina’s rural communities

A group of health care providers wearing scrubs and white coats stands outside a brick medical facility.

New clinic brings health care to South Carolina’s underserved Orangeburg-area community

Joseph F. Sullivan Center Virtual Clinic

Clemson’s Sullivan Center expands non-COVID-19 virtual clinic visits to Oconee County residents

Clemson Rural Health opens third primary care clinic in rural South Carolina

Clemson Rural Healthoutreach

Clemson News

Clemson News is the go-to source for stories and news about the innovations, research and accomplishments of the Clemson Family.

  • Contact Us

Media Resources

  • For Journalists
  • Find an Expert

Clemson Publications

  • Clemson World
  • Decipher
  • IDEAS magazine
  • Student Affairs Experience Magazine
  • Orange. The Experience.
  • Clemson TV

Policy/Terms of Use

  • Web Accessibility
  • Title IX
  • Non-Discrimination & Anti-Harassment Policy
  • Ethics/Safety Hotline
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023. All Rights Reserved.

Clemson University