It is with great sadness that the South Carolina AHEC marks
the passing of Olin Marion Burton, MD. Dr. Burton was a friend and ardent
supporter of AHEC, as well as a dedicated physician who sought to improve
access to care for people of all ages in our state and beyond. Dr. Burton graduated
from Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and
trained at MUSC and the Medical College of Georgia. He practiced pediatrics in Anderson for two
decades, where he was also a faculty member with the Anderson Family Medicine
Residency Training Program before being appointed as Director of Pediatric
Education and Associate Director of the Residency Training Program. Dr. Burton
went on to establish a Division of Community Pediatrics at the USC School of
Medicine and established the South Carolina AHEC locum tenens program in 1994,
where he was its Medical Director for 21 years. He also served as on the Board
of the SC AHEC Rural Physician Recruitment Program where he led the charge to
place providers in rural and underserved areas for 21 years, serving as Chair
for the past 13 years. Dr. Burton served on the South Carolina Hospital
Association Board of Trustees and as president of the South Carolina Medical
Association and American Academy of Pediatrics. In addition to his medical
career, Dr. Burton led a distinguished military career and retired in 2005 as
Colonel in the South Carolina Army National Guard.
Dr. Burton’s leadership and lasting impact on health and
healthcare in South Carolina cannot easily be enumerated. His work to establish
and secure funding for the Locum Tenens program was instrumental in supporting
the practices and strengthening the retention rates of family practitioners in
rural South Carolina. His work with the Rural Physician Program has resulted in
over 386 primary care physicians being placed in rural and underserved areas of
our state.
He was an integral part of the South Carolina AHEC system
for all but two years of its existence and will be greatly missed.
Click here to read the full obituary in The State newspaper.
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