The Roper St. Francis Health Services Center is a comprehensive sexual health care provider reflecting a commitment to total wellness and high quality, patient-centered care. We are the only one-stop-shop in the Charleston area providing access to essential medical care, case management and other supportive services for people living with HIV, along with access to prevention services like PrEP and nPEP.
The Center provides an array of low, or no-cost clinical and support services for patients living with HIV, and a number of services for those who are not (*).
Clinical Services
Behavioral and mental health services*
Dental care
FREE rapid HIV testing*
Laboratory services*
Medical case management*
Medication assistance*
Medical care*
Nutritional counseling
Pharmacy powered by Avita*
PrEP and nPEP*
Substance abuse treatment
Vision services
Social Services
Food pantry/Care Closet
Housing assistance
Health insurance assistance
Legal aid
Life skills classes
Peer navigation
Pastoral counseling and support
Smoking cessation
Support groups
Transportation
Community Outreach and Education
health fairs
community education
Conference and forum presentations
Partnerships, alliances and
task forces
Signature awareness events
Our Story
The Roper St. Francis Health Services Center, formerly the Ryan White Wellness Center, was founded in 2000 to care for the region’s uninsured patients living with HIV. For two decades, the Ryan White Wellness Center has sustained a legacy of compassionate, state-of-the-art care. The Wellness Center empowers patients and the community to take charge of their sexual health while championing overall wellness. We are the only one-stop-shop sexual health center in the tri-county offering more than 20 different onsite services.
South Carolina and its southern neighbors have become the new epicenter for the HIV epidemic. STDs in the region have increased by 15%. As a grant-funded center, we actively seek sponsors who believe in the value of high-quality sexual health and want to help build a community free of HIV and other STDs. Partnerships with local businesses, healthcare facilities and social service agencies along with federal funding help us provide care for the community in collaborative and innovative ways.
Our 20th Anniversary
Twenty two years ago…
…a small office was established within downtown Charleston’s Roper Hospital (with a grant from the federal Ryan White CARE Act) to serve the Lowcountry’s growing population of individuals living with HIV/AIDS. Over two decades, the Roper St. Francis Health Services Center has become the region’s leading comprehensive sexual health center modeling best practices as a national leader. Let’s take a look back, while we continue to reach forward, helping more patients and families live healthier lives.
View a Timeline of Our History
Who was Ryan White?
The Ryan White HIV Program was named for a courageous young man named Ryan White who was diagnosed with HIV following a blood transfusion in December, 1984.
Ryan White was diagnosed at age 13 while living in Kokomo, Indiana and was given six months to live. When Ryan tried to return to school, he fought discrimination in his Indiana community. Along with his mother Jeanne White Ginder, Ryan rallied for his right to attend school - gaining national attention - and became the face of public education about his disease. Surprising his doctors, Ryan lived five years longer than predicted. He died in April, 1990, one month before his high school graduation and only months before Congress passed the legislation bearing his name in August, 1990 - the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act.