UCM Student Run Free Health Clinic ~ Project Abstract
.
Founder names:
Esmeralda Aguayo, Yimdriuska Magan, Enid Picart, Azzitta Rahmani
Todays date:
04/27/07
Project name:
In-Touch Community Health (ITCH) Initiative
Major activities in
project:
Organizing and preparing for the establishment of a sustainable student run health
clinic of free services
1. Identify, contact, and summarize lessons from longstanding student-run community
free clinics
2. Review the literature for lessons regarding start up and implementation of similar
clinics (e.g. issues of governance, funding, liability, volunteer and staff training)
3. Identify and contact potential supporters/ mentors/ participants/ providers
4. Develop business plan, including services, staffing, sustainability plan
5. Identify and write at least one proposal for funding (e.g. [Link] project
grants,
6. Identify options for clinic locations (e.g., within existing organizations, new
structures)
Project aims:
1. To establish a free student run clinic for the community of Merced
2. To implement the clinic through collaboration between UCM and the community
3. To use the clinic as a means to increase the number of physicians and other health
professionals, in the health field and at the same time reducing health disparities and
service pressures current physicians face in Merced
4. To increase awareness, education, and engagement of the public for issues affecting our
Merced community.
Guiding
question(s):
1. How can UCM students leverage their own and the UCs capacity to improve health
care and overall health of Merced, especially for persons with limited income and barriers
to healthcare?
2. How can UCM students serve as force to improve community health education, health
promotion, and disease prevention?
Background and
significance:
Merced is among the poorest counties in the United States, while at the same time is
one of the richest in cultural and linguistic diversity and one of the most
economically profitable agricultural regions in the US. These contradictions were
introduced though out the world in Anne Fadimans award winning book based in
Merced, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall: a Hmong Child, Her American
Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures (1997). Nearly a decade since
Fadimans publication, UC Merced (UCM), a member of the worlds premier
research university system, has entered Merced at a time when the communitys
health has improved little since 1998. Merced, like many other Central Valley
communities, is experiencing severe shortages in physicians, nurses and overall
health care. With one of the most diverse student bodies in the UC System, and
students, faculty as well as staff infused with the passion and courage of founders of
the first research university in the 21st Century, we the students of UCM feel
responsible to be a positive influence in our new home of Merced, and model for
other UCs and students all over. Plans are in progress to establish a UCM-led
medical school for the Central Valley to address gaps in the availability of health
professionals, health care, and health outcomes. A cross-disciplinary team of UCM
students wish to forward these plans and capitalize on the energy of the founding
class by first establishing the In-Touch Community Health (ITCH) Initiative and
transforming this initiative to an established student-run free clinic which will be
known as The In-Touch Community Health No Cost Clinic.
The future In-Touch Community Health No Cost Clinic will provide a means to
increase quality health care received by patients through services that will complement
those received in the local hospital and other healthcare facilities. Initially, given that UC
Merced lacks a medical school, students of the ITCH Initiative will focus on health
education and promotion services, community health and clinical services that can be
administered with minimal training and by lay health community members. The ITCH
Initiatives focus will be on serving the underserved and the uninsured population of
Merced. Our goal as pre-med students is to alleviate the pressure of current physicians in
Merced as well as to bring awareness and education to the public about issues affecting our
particular community. These services undertaken by the clinic will be free of charge to
insure that any patient seeking care will be attended; furthermore, enabling the clinic to
increase the range of patients to who care will be provided. Through the involvement of
volunteer physicians, residents and students from the UCM, the relationship between the
community and ITCH Initiatives volunteers will be strengthened. It is essential for students
in all disciplines to form a part of the ITCH Initiative in order to bridge the lingering gap
between the community and the UC Merced. The implementation of t he In-Touch
Community Health Initiative (in the future the In-Touch Community Health No
Cost Clinic) will not only serve to improve health, but also to serve as a bridge uniting the
community and the campus and to improve the quality of life for all in Merced.
Methods:
In order to establish a high quality, respectful, and sustainable student-run free clinic for
the underserved community, the following will be accomplished:
1. Attend community-based health events to learn about the community and its
needs
2. Gather health related literature and reviews on main health topics affecting the
community.
3. Research successful models to develop and select clinic components.
4. Gather supporters, collaborators, and mentors from the community, medical
circle and the university.
5. Write a detailed business plan for the project.
6. Meet with principal mentors and finalize the focus of clinic
7. Identify and address clinic administrative issues (i.e. liability and funding) with
mentors, collaborators (i.e. Mercy residency), and supporters
8. Hold periodic meetings with mentors, supporters, and collaborators to discuss
clinic location and acquisition of material resources.
9. Finish mission statement and proposal
10. Establish a strong university-community board of advisors that will review all
stages of Open Door Clinics development and implementation, with special
attention to any ethical and patient safety issues.
11. Contact potential community partners and organizations for long term
involvement in the clinic and vice versa.
12. Recruitment of community volunteers and university students of all fields.
13. Implement clinic into community.
14. Establish and implement an ongoing monitoring and evaluation system to track
progress and identify areas for improvement.
15. Hold periodic audits for community members and clinic staff (i.e. discussion
groups and community meetings)
Results/
Conclusions
Preparations for In-Touch Community Health Initiative are underway. A strong and growing
team of students and stakeholders is evolving. The projects lead team has held several
meetings with community and campus leaders to discuss the merit of the idea for a studentrun free clinic, and support has been very positive. The In-Touch Community Health team
will continue this planning and development stage of activities, with the goal of establishing
a firm commitment from campus and community leaders for the clinic before June of 2008.
Acknowledgements to:
Stergious Tsai Roussos, PhD, MPH Senior Research Scientist and Mentor
Heidi Thomas, Editor in Chief
