AMSA
AMSA's Local Chapter Project Directory
| PROJECT DESCRIPTION/CONTACT INFORMATION | |
| Project title | Cholesterol and Diabetes Screening Project |
| Project type(s) | Community Service |
| Date completed | 12/15/2006 |
| Chapter | Case Western Reserve University SOM |
| Project Coordinator | Mark Tenforde, Alida Gertz |
| Summary of project | The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine (CCLCM) of Case Western Reserve University began operating a student-run free clinic, CCLCM Health Initiative (CHI), in September of 2006. The clinic operates in the Fairfax Community Center in the Fairfax neighborhood of Cleveland, a largely indigent and predominately African American neighborhood. This clinic operates from 2-5pm on Fridays, is run by students under the guidance of a physician or nurse practitioner, and currently offers such services as blood pressure assessment, total cholesterol measurements, diabetes screening, body mass index and fat content assessment, and pregnancy testing. We are working on expanding our services, e.g. students are currently being trained for HIV testing and counseling, which we will soon be offered. Being awarded an AMSA Local Project Grant in October, our AMSA chapter was given funds to purchase supplies for total cholesterol and glucose testing of CHI patients. Using these supplies, we have tested 20-25 patients per week throughout the fall. In addition to gathering cholesterol and glucose values for patients, we provide information on topics related to the risks and management of diabetes and hypercholesterolemia. We also sit down and discuss values with patients at a results table and refer them to medical clinics in the community that provide free or discounted health care services and that can help patients manage their diabetes and/or hypercholesterolemia, if needed. Finally, we follow up by phone with patients who have abnormal values to make sure that patients are, in fact, seeking medical care. |
| Content area | Student-Run Clinic |
| Number of participants | 15 |
| Participant hours involved | 100 hour(s) |
| PROJECT PLANNING | |
| Coordinator roles | |
| Coordinator hours | hour(s) |
| FUNDING & ADVERTISING | |
| Total project cost | $355 |
| Project funding | AMSA grant |
| Funding breakdown of sources and/or donations: | |
| Project advertising | The Fairfax neighborhood has a community newsletter with good circulation, which was used to advertise the opening of CHI. Most of the advertising, however, has been done through word-of-mouth. Many individuals also learned about CHI because many people work at and/or use the Fairfax Community Center where we are housed for various services. |
| PROJECT EVALUATION | |
| Success rating (1 = unsuccesful, 5 = very successful) |
4 |
| Lessons/suggestions | Strengths of the project design are the inclusion of patient education and follow-up with patients. What is particularly useful is providing information on healthcare providers that can offer subsequent care for patients at little or no cost to them, which is important because many of our patients cannot afford to pay for expensive doctor visits and drugs. One obstacle to care is our current inability to offer more than screening to patients due to lack of adequate resources. Also related, purchasing test strips for screening is expensive and, now that our AMSA Local Project Grant funds are spent, we need to focus on procuring resources through additional grant writing, donations, fundraising events, etc. |
