UT-Houston Medical School Faculty, Students Pitch in at Community Clinic

Every other Saturday, physicians, staff and students from The University of Texas (UT)-Houston's Medical School volunteer at the People Helping People Clinic, providing free treatment, immunizations and educational seminars to the community.

The clinic at 7405 Almeda serves the Astrodome area, the Texas Medical Center and the Third Ward. It was launched in July 1998 and is part of the Heartbeat Ministries Houston Community Center's concept to provide indigent people with a system of medical and spiritual help in combination with free food and clothes.

"People Helping People seeks to serve those in the community that have either no or only limited access to quality health care," says Mary Thomas, founder and executive director of the clinic.

"The mission of the Heartbeat Ministries Community Center as a whole is to get people from the street and to provide them with new hope and dignity to re-enter society," says Faye Howard, program coordinator for People Helping People. People can come to the clinic for a medical check-up and get free food, clothing and spiritual counseling through the church, she says.

Dr. Carlos Herrera, assistant professor of internal medicine, is a frequent volunteer at the clinic. "I like the combination of medical treatment and church," he says. "People have more confidence in the doctor if the service is provided through the church."

Doctors need to provide medical advances to the whole community, Dr. Herrera says. "But in order to make people use the medical system, we first have to give them a job, food and the freedom from violence. Then, people will be more open for our health care system."

"We have to create an interest for people for what is available to them in the medical system and through research, and to encourage them to participate in clinical research studies so that data regarding their medical needs are available," says Howard, former program coordinator for ethnic diversity in research at UT-Houston, now chair of the African American Health Coalition Houston.

"It is basically about helping and giving back to the community," says Dr. S. Noor Rahman, assistant professor of internal medicine at UT-Houston, who also volunteers at the clinic. People come to the community center and when they learn that there is a doctor available, they are more open to come and see the doctor and get a check-up, Dr. Rahman says. Here, they don't have to submit any paperwork and don't have to wait long hours.

"It is a place we can come for medical help without being charged," Nicole Wynn, mother of five, says.

For first-year medical student Kathy Robinson, volunteering "is for us an opportunity to start using what we learned in Medical School; to start the process of helping people; to educate and encourage people about preventing diseases; to make them aware of their health and bring that to their lives."

"To really change society, we have to approach the individual as a whole," Lionel Keys, pastor and founder of Heartbeat Ministries, says. "We are very thankful to the doctors and students from UT-Houston for helping us to accomplish our mission of giving people hope and self esteem."

- MONIKA JORDE

---

©2006 Texas Medical Center

---

E-Mail: tmc-info@tmc.edu
URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/08_01_99/page_12.html