Pandemic Productivity: Student-Run Free Clinic Integrates Behavioral Health in the Wake of COVID-19
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EDUCATIONAL CASE REPORT
Pandemic Productivity: Student-Run Free Clinic Integrates Behavioral Health in the Wake of COVID-19 Rebecca Fischbein 1 John M. Boltri 1
&
Stacey Gardner-Buckshaw 1 & Ashley Loucek 1,2 & Sairekha Ravichandran 1 & Madeleine Eicher 1 &
Received: 27 June 2020 / Accepted: 28 October 2020 # Academic Psychiatry 2020
With the sudden onset of COVID-19, provision of medical and mental health services have rapidly evolved to incorporate virtual visits as an essential service [1–5]. Medical education also had to rapidly adapt to an online platform as students were displaced from clinical sites [6–10]. Our educational curriculum under development in a student-run free clinic— integration of behavioral health services including screening, brief intervention, and referral for treatment—had to be suddenly altered to accommodate displaced fourth-year medical students. This report describes the rapid adaptation of primary care in-person free clinic services to integrated, virtual, and telephone-based visits to (1) continue providing healthcare to underserved patients, (2) fulfill project goals for behavioral health integration, and (3) create meaningful clinical educational opportunities for students suddenly removed from clinical settings.
Background Student-run free clinics are typically located in underserved areas and provide high quality, critical healthcare services free or at no cost for community members [11, 12]. These clinics also provide authentic practice and leadership opportunities for student volunteers [12, 13]. In addition to managing acute and chronic illness, many student-run free clinics have begun integrating behavioral health services with primary care [14–18]. Provision of behavioral health services is especially important among clinic patients who often have comorbid mental health needs [15]. Integration of behavioral health into * Rebecca Fischbein [email protected] 1
Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, USA
2
Coleman Professional Services, Ravenna, OH, USA
primary care-focused student-run free clinics increases medical student exposure to commonly treated behavioral health illnesses [17] and also matches national integration priorities [19]. The Northeast Ohio Medical University Student Outreach to Area Residents (SOAR) student-run free clinic was established in 2016 to provide free primary services to community members in Portage County, Ohio. Approximately 10% of working age Portage County adults are uninsured, 15% live in poverty, and about 17% adults failed to fill prescriptions from their doctor in the past year [20]. To address these community needs, SOAR is open three to four Saturdays a month with each clinic session staffed by approximately 22 students and 4 faculty volunteers. Since its start, over 242 unique patients have received free care, with a total of 722 patient visits including 996 free lab tests and 1418 prescriptions. In addition to primary care, services include immunizations, specialty care, social determinants of health screening an
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