LEARNING WHILE SERVING

Jaydoc Free Clinic Celebrates 20 Years Of Care

BY PAMELA URLACHER

The idea for the JayDoc Free Clinic began in the early 2000s when Jenny Koontz, third-year medical student, and fellow students at KU School of Medicine attended a lecture featuring speakers talking about safety-net clinics. Koontz and a small group of students got to work creating the plan for a clinic in Kansas City, Kan., to serve the community near KU Medical Center. Since then, students have strengthened the clinic and volunteered their time to provide quality medical care while enhancing their skills.

Proud to be celebrating its 20th anniversary, the JayDoc Free Clinic has served more than 20,000 uninsured and underinsured people in the greater Kansas City area. The student-run clinic focuses on giving back to the community and offers services Monday–Wednesday every week. Patients can receive free non-emergency urgent care and screenings, along with the opportunity to attend the clinic’s nine specialty nights for specific services such as cardiology, women’s health, diabetes, dental and radiology offered on select evenings.

The volunteer clinic operates with the help of faculty advisers. The advisers meet with the student board leadership to discuss all areas of clinic oversight, operations, new projects, reporting, accreditations and following up with all student service providers about aspects of patient care.

“The Jaydoc Clinic is nationally renowned. It’s a free clinic that is considered to be in the top echelon among student-run free clinics,” said Dr. Laurel Witt, JayDoc Clinic faculty adviser, former student director and KU School of Medicine graduate. “Our students are innovative, focused on community service and take care of nearly double the number of patients other schools’ free clinics manage.”

Students from all phases of their medical academic career are encouraged to volunteer with the JayDoc Clinic. Undergraduate premedical students from KU are given the opportunity to volunteer as front desk interns, focusing on social service work, paperwork, administrative tasks and interpreting for patients who have language barriers.

A vast majority of JayDoc Clinic patients speak Spanish, creating a need for bilingual medical professionals within the Kansas City community. Michael Arnold, current second-year medical student and former JayDoc executive director, began his journey in the clinic as an undergraduate interpreter and returned during medical school.

“It has been the most meaningful experience for me in medical school, because even as a first-year student, you’re seeing and interacting with patients, faculty members and community physicians who are showing and teaching us firsthand how to be a doctor,” Arnold said. “The real takeaway is being able to work with underinsured and underserved populations in Kansas City. It taught me a lot about the kind of doctor and the kind of leader I want to be.”

The JayDoc Clinic model was so successful, it was replicated by students at KU School of MedicineWichita. The JayDoc Clinic in Wichita opened in 2005 in partnership with Guadalupe Clinic and serve hundreds of patients each year.

Students are the sole reason the clinic can serve and provide resources to the communities they serve. This passion and commitment are shown through the care patients receive and the growing number of patients seen each year.

“I have had a patient who I’ve seen multiple times for diabetes control. It’s been neat to follow up with

STUDENT LEADERS: JayDoc Clinic student volunteers him over the last two years, setting goals and managing his diabetes,” said Maggie Malmberg, former JayDoc director of fundraising and current second-year medical student. “Getting to follow patients over time and see the changes in their health is a unique aspect of our clinic.”

Michael Arnold and Maggie Malmberg strengthened their patient care skills while serving the community. “It’s a unique opportunity for learning how to interact with patients and how to present to physicians,” Malmberg said.

JayDoc Clinic offers experiences and support for students unlike any other, helping them become lifechanging physicians and community leaders.

“It amazes me how smart and talented these students are and what they can accomplish,” said Dr. Allen Greiner, JayDoc faculty adviser and KU School of Medicine graduate. “I’ve been really lucky to be involved, and others would say the same.”

Keep The Community Healthy

You can help JayDoc Free Clinic provide medical care to individuals in need by donating at kuendowment.org/jaydoc.

WHAT’S IN YOUR BACKPACK?

“THE SWEATER MY GRANDMA KNIT

WHEN MY MOM WENT TO KU,” SAID SADIE WILLIAMS, a KU senior studying economics and English with a Spanish minor. “It has a huge Jayhawk on the front and represents that I’m grounded in my upbringing. First and foremost, I’m a Jayhawk.”

Williams spends her time searching for ways to strengthen the community. She has been a member of the KU Student Senate since her freshman year and is the current Student Body President. Through her role, Williams hopes to be the voice for students on campus. “It all shows the impact students can make at KU. I can’t think of anything I am prouder of.”

The recipient of multiple scholarships, Williams credits this support as helping shape her KU experience by allowing her to focus on serving the student body and community. “I wouldn’t have been able to get as involved in Student Senate, my sorority or the Center for Community Outreach.”

Because of her passion for education and helping people find their voices, Williams selected her three fields of study to be all encompassing. She plans to enter law school after graduation and also enjoys the creative sides of literature and language. “It’s a good balance between the skills I’ll need in the future while still doing things I just genuinely enjoy doing.”

Williams plans to continue focusing on the KU community and uplifting the students around her. She is looking forward to furthering her education and hopes to change the world as she sees it today. “KU wouldn’t be as strong of a university and have as many offerings for students without the individual donors who make that a reality. I am so genuinely thankful.”

WHAT’S IN YOUR BRIEFCASE?

“MY COMPUTER,” SAID PERRY ALEXANDER, PH.D., AT&T Foundation Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Director of the Institute for Information Sciences at the University of Kansas. “It reminds me of where we’ve been and where we’ve come. I have lived through computing basically changing the entire world.”

Alexander has been part of shaping the future of technological advances as a KU faculty member for nearly 25 years and as author and co-author of more than 130 publications. His students inspire him to be the teacher and researcher he is today. “Watching my students achieve the things they set out to achieve, that’s what it’s about. I love my research, and I appreciate my research accomplishments and achievements, but I always think about who I was working with at the time.”

Private support has helped the KU Institute for Information Sciences flourish in research, education and opportunities. Because of a gift from Ripple, Alexander and students are working on the University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI). This initiative provides resources for faculty and future tech leaders to explore new ideas such as biodiversity data, blockchain infrastructure and blockchain as art. “The grant has changed the world for us. We can do things and explore things that we just could not do before.”

Alexander is also the principal investigator for the Securing Our Worlds: Physical, Digital, Social project that received one of four $3 million awards in KU’s Research Rising competition. The team will be focused on creating more secure and resilient communities. “Support helps our students focus on their research and allows me to see an interesting idea that we don’t have government funding for yet grow into something that does result in funded research. It helps build our community.”