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Left to right, UNMC students Dana Olson, Rachel Eller and Megan Branco visit with patient Patricia Giles at the GOOD LIFE Clinic. |
Nebraska’s state slogan for many years has been “Nebraska…The Good Life.” Now, thanks to the efforts of numerous UNMC students, the slogan applies to a new clinic in North Omaha, which provides low-cost care to indigent patients with Type II diabetes.
Located in the Baker Place Clinic, 5050 Ames Ave., the GOOD LIFE Clinic stands for Greater Omaha Outreach for Diabetes Lifestyles Impacting Fitness and Education.
It is similar in concept to the SHARING Clinic (Student Health Alliance Reaching Indigent Needy Groups), which opened in 1997 in the South Omaha Neighborhood Association Building at 5211 S. 31st St.
“The idea is to provide low-cost care to those people most in need,” said Robyn Kaiser, a second year medical student who is one of the students who helped develop the GOOD LIFE Clinic. “It’s an interdisciplinary clinic that brings together medical, nursing, pharmacy, medical technology and nutrition students. It’s really been a fantastic educational experience for all the students.”
Helping patients
The GOOD LIFE Clinic opened last October and is held on the second Wednesday of the month from 6 to 9 p.m.
In the five months the clinic has been held, nearly 20 patients have been seen with the patients receiving a total 44 months of diabetic care. Each month, the students strive to see four new patients in addition to performing follow-up care on four existing patients.
“The purpose of the clinic is to serve indigent people who don’t have insurance. We’re looking for those people who fall through the cracks,” said Audrey Paulman, M.D., a clinical assistant professor in the family medicine department and one of the UNMC faculty members who help supervise the students at the clinic. “We only charge the patients $10 for each visit, and this fee is waived if the patient can’t afford it.”
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The GOOD LIFE Clinic team. |
Looking ahead
Medications, examinations and laboratory evaluations are provided to patients. To help keep costs low, Dr. Paulman said funding has been secured from a variety of sources including the UNMC College of Medicine, Nebraska Health System, the NHS Hospital Auxiliary and pharmaceutical companies. Future plans include writing grants to federal and state agencies as well as philanthropic foundations to help ensure the long-term financial viability of the clinic, she said.
Making a difference
At the February clinic, the students shared the story of a patient named Michael (not his real name), whose case illustrates how the clinic can make a difference.
“Michael is in his 50s, and he has a lot of things going on,” said Kim Olsen, a second year medical student and one of the developers of the clinic. “When I first saw Michael, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we have to save this guy. We’ve got to get him to quit smoking, change his diet and lower his blood pressure.'”
The students took things gradually, but initially addressed Michael’s diet and his diabetes management.
“He was not monitoring his blood sugar levels at all,” said Preston Omer, another second year medical student who helped develop the clinic. “We encouraged him to check his blood sugars at least twice a day. We adjusted his medications, put him on aspirin once a day and used a cream to treat the fungus on his feet.
Since his initial visit with the students, Michael has started eating a healthier diet and has been faithful about checking his blood sugar levels twice a day.
“All the students are learning what a difficult disease diabetes is,” Omer said. “But, we’re also learning how important it is to manage the disease. It can really make a difference when people take control of their diabetes.”
For more information
For more information or to make an appointment for the GOOD LIFE Clinic, call 595-2280.
The GOOD LIFE team
In addition to Dr. Paulman, other UNMC/NHS faculty and staff participating in the GOOD LIFE Clinic include: Paul Paulman, M.D., UNMC family medicine; Joyce Hall, NHS clinical nurse specialist; Bruce Lovejoy, a nurse practitioner in UNMC family medicine; Glenda Woscyna, manager of nutrition care for NHS and director of medical nutrition education for the School of Allied Health Professions in the UNMC College of Medicine; Beata Ineck, Pharm.D., UNMC College of Pharmacy; and four registered dieticians and certified diabetes educators for NHS – Maxine McElligott, Brenda Bishop, Nessie Ferguson and Cindy Polich.