APHA
Back to Annual Meeting
APHA 2006 APHA
Back to Annual Meeting
APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

[ Recorded presentation ] Recorded presentation

Caroline Street Clinic for the Uninsured; a model of service, collaboration and volunteerism

Lisa Kelley, MS, RN1, Kelly Bower, MSN/MPH, RN1, and Miriam Alexander, MD, MPH2. (1) School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, 525 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, 410-614-2482, lkelley@son.jhmi.edu, (2) Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205

The Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute (UHI) in partnership with the Baltimore City Health Department developed the Caroline Street Clinic for the Uninsured, to provide primary health care to uninsured adults who live in specific zip codes in East Baltimore, the community in which Hopkins resides. An additional goal of the clinic is to provide an opportunity for collaboration between community members, partners and a tertiary academic medical center. The clinic serves as a model for volunteerism and collaboration. It provides opportunities for Hopkins physicians, nurses, medical, nursing and public health students and undergraduates to volunteer and to develop unique professional relationships. The clinic also serves as a site for applied academic experiences for multiple student/trainee groups. Furthermore, medical and nursing students have the opportunity to work in teams, especially in the area of HIV screening and education. Students who are fluent in Spanish can be trained in medical interpretation and serve as interpreters for the Spanish-speaking patients. The UHI community health worker initiative places health workers in the clinic to provide comprehensive service to patients and importantly to allow students to work alongside members of the community. The clinic receives patient referrals from multiple community sites. UHI and the clinic have an academic medical advisory committee and a community advisory board. Several hospital departments provide no cost or at cost clinical services. The clinic has become an invaluable safety net resource, for a population that would othewise not have a source of primary care.

Learning Objectives:

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

[ Recorded presentation ] Recorded presentation

Providing Health Care to the Uninsured

The 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 4-8, 2006) of APHA