The Saint Louis University School of Medicine made another stride in the field of health care and commitment to community back in 1994 with the opening of the Health Resource Center, a free clinic run entirely by SLU”s medical students in partnership with BREM, a Catholic Social Ministry. On March 7, an auction will be held to raise funds for this project.
Marsha McBride, M.D., worked alongside fellow classmates as part of a grant project for impoverished elderly in the crime-ridden neighborhood of North St. Louis. They realized the shortcomings of ending their project and returning back to their daily routines.
‘The grant expired, but the need for free, accessible care for disadvantaged and vulnerable populations clearly didn”t,’ McBride said. ‘We thought a student-run clinic would give us the opportunity to provide that care, as well as give us hands-on experience early on in our medical education.’
Initially, the St. Louis community was not receptive to this new organization, putting forth several problems for the eager students. Certain communities denied them due to lack of available space. Others feared it was simply a fad and that the clinic would quickly spiral into decline, while still more did not like the idea of being, in their view, test subjects for students.
However, they did have one strength: John Morley, M.D., professor of internal medicine and geriatrics division director. ‘I agreed to be the clinic”s director if they managed to get it opened. I offered some suggestions, but I told the students it was up to them to find the funding, figure out how to staff it and find the location. And they were motivated by the challenge.’
Even now, he emphasizes this point–the students are the ones in charge, overseeing every aspect of the operation.
Indeed, upon finding a home for the HRC in the basement of St. Augustine”s Catholic Church in Hamilton Heights, a neighborhood in North St. Louis, students did 98 percent of the renovation and held fund-raisers and obtained private donations. The HRC is affiliated with the Tenet healthcare system for purposes of insurance.
Today, he says roughly 40 to 50 percent of SLU”s medical students participate there, seeing eight to 12 patients a week, noting the extended summer hours due to school vaccinations and physical exams and that patients come from as far as southern Illinois to fulfill their health care needs. The Center features an eye clinic one Saturday a month as well. Morley talked about the relevance of the HRC, citing ‘many people … who fundamentally couldn”t find a doctor,’ highlighting those who ‘work to stay alive’ and whom no one would see.
One figure reports that almost 90 to 95 percent of medical students volunteer there two or more weekend days per year. From starting at seeing 250 patients in 1994 to seeing near 1,500 in 1998, the HRC has proven its potential to serve the needs of many. Open on Saturdays, as early as 9 a.m., it serves as the only clinic of its type to have weekend hours.
‘It”s sometimes amazing and always gratifying to see how far the clinic has come,’ McBride said. These days students see, on average, 20 to 30 patients on any given day.
One or two other similar clinics exist in the area but not with the student-run set up of the HRC, where first- and second-year students get their first clinical experience, obtaining patient histories and vital signs, and the third- and fourth-year students perform physical exams while a faculty member is on hand for prescriptions, etc.
The auction will take place in the Simon Recreation Center at 6 p.m., with tickets costing $15. It is open to the general public. Donors of auction items will receive two free tickets and should contact Theresa Schwartz at [email protected].
