Dr. Gabbe talks about his recent trip to the Columbus Free Clinic.
Hi! As you can see from the pin I’m wearing, my wife Pat and I recently toured the Columbus Free Clinic on North High Street in the Rardin Family Practice Center, and were so impressed by the good work our medical students are doing, providing care for the uninsured and underinsured of the greater Columbus area.
The clinic, which is operated by The Ohio State University medical students under the supervision of volunteer physicians from our Department of Family Medicine, achieves two goals: providing quality medical care at no cost for those who seek it, and providing hands-on educational experience for Ohio State students who volunteer their services.
The clinic is open on Thursday evening and sees about 35 to 40 patients each week on a first-come, first-served basis. We learned that the clinic recently served a record number of patients in one evening nearly 50 patients being seen on September 17. Patients who come to the clinic can receive free acute care and primary care services. Lab services and prescription medications are also provided at no cost. And, as you can imagine, the demand for these services always exceeds the supply.
Students use this supportive teaching environment to develop their skills in a real-world setting. Medical students practice interview and exam skills and Pharmacy students practice counseling and preparing medications. Dr. Mary Jo Welker, who is associate dean of Primary Care, chair of the Department of Family Medicine and executive director of the OSU Primary Care Network, also serves as the medical director of the clinic and she does a fantastic job both as an administrator and academic advisor, helping students maximize the clinic’s limited resources as students and physicians work together to improve people’s lives.
Many patients wait hours to see a physician and those who require referral to a specialist must often wait much longer.
Despite these challenges, the dedicated students that manage the clinic continue to look for ways to improve the services they provide and to help more people. They are currently developing a Web site that will give their patients easy access to clinic contact information, hours, directions, important announcements and lists of available services at the clinic.
The Columbus Free Clinic is also seeking to expand its volunteer physician pool, which would allow them to treat more patients. So, if you would like to volunteer at the Columbus Free Clinic, please contact Dr. Welker. If you have creative ideas about how to help with their referral process, she and the students would be glad to hear them as well.
The Columbus Free Clinic is just one of the many ways our medical students and staff work with the community to provide much needed care to central Ohio’s underserved. Partnerships like these establish strong bonds between our physicians and those in the community who need care the most.
This is one of several clinics where our faculty, our staff and our students volunteer. The Physicians Free Clinic, La Clinica Latina and the Asian Health Initiative are all examples of the ways we work to benefit our community.
In 2008, OSU Medical Center provided more than $144,000,000 in community benefit. We are firmly committed to ensuring that we offer the variety of services and programs that address the health care needs of the community we serve. You can learn more about our community benefits and ways that you can get involved by visiting the community benefit page on OneSource under the About Us link.
As always, I want to thank you for all you do on behalf of our patients, our students and our community.
Well, have a great week.