Service Learning in Health Care for Underserved Communities: University of Iowa Mobile Clinic, 2019.
Palma, Melissa L; Arthofer, Andrea; Halstead, Kristen M; Wahba, Joyce M; Martinez, Denise A
Why this matters
Student-run free clinics can be a person's only source of care, which raises the stakes on quality. At the University of Iowa Mobile Clinic, 44 percent of patients surveyed said it was their only source of care and 97 percent rated the care excellent or good.
Abstract
The University of Iowa Mobile Clinic (UIMC) is an interdisciplinary student-run free medical clinic founded in 2002. UIMC provides free health screenings, education, and basic services to underserved populations in Iowa: immigrants, refugees, migrant farmworkers, individuals experiencing homelessness, low-income individuals, and people who live in rural communities. Forty-four percent of patients surveyed use UIMC as their only source of care. Ninety-seven percent of patients surveyed rate care as excellent or good. UIMC is a crucial safety net health care resource in Iowa to improve health equity.