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Home > Serving Our Community > Saturday Clinic for the Uninsured
Saturday Clinic for the Uninsured
Sophomore Medical Students have a "Kodak moment".
The Saturday Clinic for the Uninsured is a collaborative program between the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and Columbia St. Mary’s (CSM) to serve uninsured and underinsured adults. The Clinic is coordinated by sophomore medical students of MCW each Saturday morning at the site of the Columbia St. Mary's Family Care Center at Humboldt and North Ave. The MCW students run the clinic, coordinating patient processing, patient histories and work-ups and referring patients to other ongoing help as appropriate. Columbia St. Mary's provides the clinic space, volunteer physician support and diagnostic testing required for assessment and treatment. In addition, Columbia St. Mary's Newport and Seton Pharmacies review patient profiles, process and fill prescriptions at greatly discounted rates and provide medication counseling to Saturday Free Clinic patients. CSM provides volunteer physician support and all of the diagnostic testing required for patient care.
Patients line up each Saturday before the Clinic’s 8:00 a.m. opening since care is provided on a first-come, first-served basis. On most Saturdays, from 20 to 30 patients are served. Patients are registered and screened to determine that they can be served at the Clinic. They are then taken to a clinic exam room, interviewed and examined by a team of medical students. The students in turn present the patient’s problem to a volunteer attending physician who directs overall patient care and management. The medical students are involved in all aspects of the patient care and learn much in the process. Patients receive excellent quality primary care from experienced volunteer physicians and the health of the community is improved. In 2006, the Clinic served 1,055 people.
Smiling Sophie
At 7:30 in the morning, Sophie is smiling. She is number 17 in a line of over 30 people waiting to be seen at the Saturday Clinic for the Uninsured, and there’s a really good chance she’s going to be able to see a doctor today. She got here at 7:00 a.m. - but some people have been in line longer than that. Hopefully she can be seen soon, as she has to be at work in a couple of hours. Sophie, in her early 40’s, works full-time as a Personal Care Worker. It is ironic that she provides for the health care of others; but her job provides no health insurance. Since her first visit three years ago, she has come every two to three months to follow up for her diabetes and high blood pressure. Seeing the effects it had on her family, Sophie took charge of her health and has made great efforts to obtain much-needed healthcare.
When she first came to visit the doctors at the clinic, she had a hemoglobin A1C level of over 14%. Hemoglobin A1C is a blood test used to measure how well a person’s diabetes is controlled. Below 6% is normal, and anything over 8% is usually cause for concern. Within a year of regular visits, medications, and lifestyle modifications, Sophie was able to reduce her level to about 7%.
Sophie has spent her entire life living in Milwaukee, and thinks the Saturday Clinic for the Uninsured “is a great program”. She likes talking with the students, and “enjoys helping the students learn”. If it weren’t for the Saturday Clinic she’s not sure where she would get healthcare.
The line is moving slow today so Sophie holds her spot while she runs to work to tell her boss she will be a little late. When she returns, she is able to quickly see a doctor, get refills of her medications, get her blood drawn, and go back to work within half an hour. As she walks out in to the warm July day, Sophie is still smiling.
Dr. Rebecca DiMarco
Saturday’s are supposed to be relaxing days. Especially after a long week of working as a resident physician in a busy Family Medicine practice. But nevertheless, Dr. Rebecca DiMarco, first year resident, shows up at her office at 8:00 a.m. to volunteer for the Saturday Clinic for the Uninsured. Dr. DiMarco munches on one of the day-old bagels provided by a local business and sips her coffee as the group of student volunteers meet to discuss the upcoming day. During the week, the office is a bustling workplace filled with patients, nurses, doctors, and office staff. Today, there are only patients and medical students, with doctors such as herself overseeing the care of the patients.
The scene is not unfamiliar to Dr. DiMarco. She worked at the free clinic herself when she was a medical student at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Back then the clinic was held in the Isaac Coggs building, she recalls. These days the clinic is held in the Columbia St. Mary’s Family Health Clinic located on the corner of North Avenue and Humboldt. As a student, Dr. DiMarco remembers she “enjoyed figuring out what I was doing right or wrong by learning from fellow students”. The mentoring from the volunteer physicians was also a great way to learn without the pressure of a structured academic environment.
When asked why she is returning to volunteer her time as a physician, Dr. DiMarco says: “It’s part of having a practice in this area – you have to help everyone. One aspect of being a family physician is helping with uninsured patients. As doctors, part of our responsibility as primary-care physicians is to provide care to people regardless of their insurance status”. Providing mentorship and education to the students working at the clinic is another part of the clinic Dr. DiMarco enjoys. Oh, and don’t forget the free bagels.
Saturday Clinic for the Uninsured
c/o Columbia St. Mary's Family Care Center
1121 E. North Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53212
Walk-ins Saturdays starting at 8:00 a.m.
The clinic is open each Saturday at 8:00 a.m. and serves patients on a first-come, first-served basis. People who are without insurance and with limited resources are those to be served by the Clinic. Direct referrals are not possible since the clinic is not staffed on other hours and the space is used by Columbia St. Mary's Family Care Center on days other than Saturdays.
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