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Stephen Weber, MD, dean of the School of Medicine and UAMS vice chancellor, and Elizabeth Gass, MD, listen to student presentations about patients at the 12th Street Health and Wellness Center.
Image courtesy of Evan Lewis
| University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) 12Number Street Health & Wellness Center, a student-run, interprofessional free clinic that serves neighborhood residents while educating students, has once again earned a Gold Star rating from the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC).
This rating is the highest rating awarded by NAFC, whose mission is to ensure underserved populations have access to affordable, quality health care.
12th Avenue Health and Wellness Center
Located at 4010 W. 12Number Since opening in early 2013, the clinic at St. George Hospital in Little Rock has served students from five UAMS schools (health professions, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health) and graduate schools.
Under the supervision of licensed medical professionals, students will provide health and wellness services for local residents, including illness and medication management, basic dental screenings, health screenings, education and immunizations. The clinic focuses on preventive care and can provide prescriptions for some chronic conditions.
We received a Silver Star rating in 2020, the first year of the NAFC rating system, and have received a Gold Star rating every year since. The NAFC Standards Program awards Gold, Silver and Bronze ratings.
“Achieving and maintaining a Gold Star rating takes a tremendous amount of work,” said Elizabeth Gass, MD, the clinic’s medical director and professor of internal medicine in the UAMS School of Medicine.
To earn a Gold Star rating, a free or charity clinic must receive high scores in areas related to patient care, clinic and pharmacy accountability, administrative practices, credentialing and privileging systems, and risk management systems. Clinics must submit information about their written policies and procedures to NAFC and demonstrate that they have adequately incorporated those standards.
Third-year medical student Rachel French and lab volunteer Armin Mortaj show School of Medicine Dean Steven Weber, M.D., Ph.D., around the lab facilities at the 12th Street Health and Wellness Center.Evan Lewis
“These standards allow us to demonstrate to policymakers, partners, funders and stakeholders the high-quality care we are providing to our patients,” the association said in a letter informing UAMS of the evaluation. “Furthermore, the standards will assist NAFC in developing benefits and resources that will help enhance care for our members’ patients.”
There are approximately 1,400 free or charity clinics registered with NAFC across the U.S. Gass noted that only 6 percent of clinics registered with NAFC are student-led.
“12Number “Street Health & Wellness Center is unique in receiving this award,” she said. “We are proud of our student board and leadership committee who work diligently to provide quality care to our patients, and we regularly collaborate with our Community Advisory Board to ensure our work is respectful of the needs of our community.”
“The mission of the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics is to ensure that medically underserved people have access to affordable health care,” the association states. “NAFC and its members are committed to ensuring that patients have access to quality health care.”
of 12Number Gass said Street Health and Wellness Center saw more than 1,000 patient visits in 2023, helping patients avoid unnecessary emergency visits and reducing distress due to health concerns.
Recent statistics show that about 2 million patients across the U.S. receive care at free or charity clinics and pharmacies. About 82% of patients are uninsured, and about 63% are employed. Last year, 682,000 new patients were seen at the clinics. Gass said these statistics are “consistent with the 12 other statistics.”Number Street. Most of our patients are construction, landscaping, food industry, and hospitality workers who don’t have access to health insurance through their jobs.'” Another big group are people who “fall through the Medicaid gap.”
“12Number “The Street Health & Wellness Center is a valuable facility for our students, who learn how to care for patients through interprofessional training and mentoring,” Gass said. “It’s also a valuable facility for our faculty, who provide educational and administrative support. And most of all, it’s a valuable facility for our community, who care for people who don’t have access to health care otherwise. We believe that health care is a right, not just a privilege.”
In short, she is “12Number The Street Health & Wellness Center helps keep our community healthy and hopeful.”
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, health professions, public health, a graduate school, a hospital, a main campus in Little Rock, a Northwest Arkansas Regional Campus in Fayetteville, a network of regional campuses across the state, and eight research institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stevens Spine and Neuroscience Institute, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatry Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, the Translational Research Institute, the Digital Health & Innovation Institute, and the Community Health Innovation Institute. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical operations. UAMS is the state’s only adult Level 1 trauma center. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 residents and fellows, and five dental residents. The company is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook. X (formerly Twitter)YouTube or Instagram.
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