Our Pediatricians

 Dr. O'Donnell grew Allentown, PA. When he was a sophomore in high school, he & his family relocated to Columbia, SC. He earned his medical degree at The Medical University of South Carolina, College of Medicine. He then completed his internship & residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee.

In the summer of 2000, Dr. O'Donnell moved his family to Laurinburg & he joined The Purcell Clinic as a full time Board Certified Pediatrician. He is a member of The North Carolina Pediatric Society & The American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. O'Donnell spends his leisure time with his wife, son, & daughter. He enjoys hunting, fishing & driving his restored mustang. 

 Dr. Howard is from Deep Run, NC. She earned her medical degree at East Carolina University School of Medicine in NC. After completing her internship & residency at Duke University Medical Center, she went to work at Henderson Pediatric Center & later, the Franklin County Health Department. She later moved back to Laurinburg with her husband Dr. Mark LaVigne. She joined The Purcell Clinic in 1995.

Dr. Howard is a Board Certified Pediatrician & an active Methodist. She is a very proud & involved mother to her three sons & enjoys outdoor activities with her family. 

 Dr. Byrd grew up in Laurinburg, NC. He earned his medical degree at East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine. He completed his internship & residency at The University of South Carolina/Palmetto Richland University. During his residency he received the Pediatric Teacher of the Year Award twice, The Intern Teacher of the Year, & The Developmental Intern of the Year Award. He later moved home with his wife, Mitzi, & their son, Parker to join The Purcell Clinic as a full time Board Certified Pediatrician.

He is a member of The North Carolina Pediatric Society, The North Carolina Medical Society, & The American Academy of Pediatrics. He is a member of The Scotland County School Board, Laurinburg Optimist, & Deacon in the Presbyterian Church. He also coaches youth baseball.
Dr. Byrd spends his leisure time with his wife, their son, & two daughters. Together they enjoy boating, traveling, & outdoor activities. 

 Dr. Jiménez was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Moca, Puerto Rico. She completed both her undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR). Soon after completing her Residency in Pediatrics at UPR, she became a full-time Board Certified Pediatrician at The Purcell Clinic. 

Being originally accustomed to the small town living, she found it easy to transition into living in Laurinburg, NC. Her close relatives have joined her and now plan on living here permanently too. Dr. Jiménez values the closeness of her family and wishes to have a family of her own. She enjoys sightseeing, trying new cuisines, and visiting with family and friends. 

 Tom was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. He started his nursing career in 1990 as a pediatric ICU nurse at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. Over the next 10 years while working and traveling as an RN he finished his BSN in 1996 and his MSN in 2000. Both of these accomplishments were done at the University of Carlow, Pittsburgh, PA. He then became a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner in July of 2000, through ANCC. 

In October of 2000, he moved to Laurinburg where he started out his NP career in family medicine with Scotland memorial hospital though his love of working with children had him eventually returning to his roots. In 2016, he joined the team at the Purcell clinic. Tom has lived with Chrohn’s disease for over 40+ years; thus, he is able to use both his professional and personal experience to help others with GI related issues. He takes one week out of the year to volunteer at Youth Rally; a camp for older children 12-17 that live with bowel or bladder disease. When Tom isn’t working or volunteering he spends time with his wife,  Debbie, and 2 children. 

Michelle was born and raised in Moore County, North Carolina. She completed her undergraduate nursing degree at Sandhills Community College in 2009. She spent 11 years of her career working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit taking care of preterm and term infants with complex medical needs.  It was there she discovered her passion for providing care to newborns and their families. Michelle describes her most rewarding moment as an RN as seeing how far "her babies" have come as she watches them grow.

In 2017, Michelle decided to further her education. While working full-time, Michelle graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with her Master's Degree in Nursing in the Family Nurse Practitioner Program in 2020. Her special interests in practice include care of the newborn and breastfeeding. In her spare time, Michelle enjoys traveling and spending time with her family and friends. Michelle has been with The Purcell Clinic since November of 2021.