It started before I was old enough to know it was starting.
Life should not have started this way. I was not supposed to be bagging groceries at the Piggly Wiggly at 9 years old. My parents wanted me to learn customer service, hard work, long hours, and personal accountability — and it worked.
My dad had run public accounting for Piggly Wiggly for 20 years, then bought the small Piggly Wiggly in Summerville in 1973. I worked for $.25 an hour. On occasion, tips could double my hourly rate. I could afford to buy as much candy as my nine-year-old body could consume.
“I could afford to buy as much candy as my nine-year-old body could consume.”
— Dr. Frank Wells, FounderA dream job for a preteen.
While mom and dad were running the Piggly Wiggly, my dad bought the Dairy Queen on Rivers Avenue. My older brothers and I left mom running the grocery store and had a ball cooking burgers and dipping ice cream cones into liquid chocolate that would firm up as it got cold.
Conversations around the dinner table always involved how many customers we had that day, profit margins, and revenue generated. Even more, there were stories of my parents serving people in the community — helping the homeless get food in their bellies, caring for the employees that made everything run.
“I learned that it was a true honour to care for employees and to serve our community.”
— Dr. Frank Wells, FounderHealthcare as a competitive advantage — most businesses didn’t even know they were missing it.
Decades later, and over the last 30+ years, Frank helped business owners rebuild their companies and focus on future growth. During 12 years operating, growing, and selling the HealthFirst medical clinics, he learned that local, same-day access to great healthcare was a competitive advantage that most businesses didn’t even know they were missing.
That competitive advantage became the foundation for Holy City Med. Subscription plans offering free and unlimited medical services to employees of companies that couldn’t afford to open their own multi-million dollar clinics. Extended to families and roommates too — because healthy at home means healthy at work.
“We learned that employees who felt truly cared for would never leave the business that offered that care.”
— Dr. Frank Wells, FounderThe vision became a clinic. Then a community.
Holy City Med was founded in January 2020. What started as a direct primary care concept built on Frank’s lifetime of experience serving Charleston families and businesses quickly became something bigger: a community healthcare home for 2,500+ members across two Charleston locations.
The mission was simple from day one. Make real healthcare access available to every person and every family in Charleston — without insurance standing in the way. Walk in, be seen, get better. No appointments. No surprise bills. No runaround.
Just getting started.
Today Holy City Med serves 2,500+ members across two Charleston locations — West Ashley and North Charleston. Primary care, urgent care, mental health, weight loss, occupational health, and more — all under one roof, with the same small team of providers, at $0 per visit for members.
The vision hasn’t changed. Every person and every family in Charleston deserves real access to real healthcare — not a wait list, not a referral maze, not a surprise bill. Just care. Same day. When you need it.
Holy City Med is just getting started.