Saturday Clinic for the Uninsured

The Saturday Clinic for the Uninsured provides quality, ongoing, and free primary health care to the medically uninsured population in the city of Milwaukee.  The Saturday Clinic is unique to other clinics because medical students are in charge of day-to-day operations in addition to patient care and education.  Services that are provided at the clinic include routine physicals, women's annual exams, prescription refills, limited specialist referrals, STD testings, laboratory and radiology. 

The Saturday Clinic principally serves the African-American community.  The patients who utilize the walk-in clinic suffer from a wide variety of illnesses.  The common conditions that are treated that are treated at the Saturday Clinic include high blood pressure, diabetes, and sexually transmitted disease.  The Saturday Clinic also provides limited referrals, prescription refills, labs, x-rays and employment-requested physicals.

The clinic, which is open fifty weeks a year, regularly sees 15 to 25 patients per Saturday on a first come, first serve basis.  It is not unusual for patients to wait outside the clinic starting earlier than 7:00 in the morning to ensure that they are seen.  Currently, the clinic is open from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Location:

The clinic is located at 1121 E. North Avenue, at the corner of North Avenue and Humboldt.  There is street parking and a lot adjacent to the building.

Hours:

The Saturday Clinic is open from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.  We encourage patients to arrive early as we can accommodate a limited number of patients depending on physicians available.

Partners:

• Center for Healthy Communities, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin
• Columbia St. Mary's Hospital and Family Health Center

Goals of the Program:

• Provide quality health care for our patients
• Provide a community-based, educational experience for undergraduate medical students
• Work with community partners, underserved providers, and charitable organizations to integrate services
• Increase awareness of health policy issues surrounding the uninsured and underinsured in the community

Accomplishments to Date:

• Since opening in 1991, the Saturday Clinic has provided care to over 900 patients each year, totaling more than 10,000 patients and 15,000 patient encounters
• Each year 300 medical students and medical residents volunteer at the clinic; over 30 physician preceptors volunteer their clinical services
• Medical students have reported that the clinic provided them with valuable clinical and leadership experience, and and opportunity to better understand the needs of the community

Current Activities:

• Clinical mangers participate in a quarterly free health clinic forum, sponsored by the Medical Society of Milwaukee County
• Mangers regularly review and update procedures in order to provide optimal and efficient patient care

Future Plans:

• To recruit physician specialists to provide ongoing patient care
• Continue working with patients to obtain necessary medications at low or no cost

Awards:

• 2007 Humanitarian in Medicine Award from the Milwaukee Academy of Medicine

2008-2009 Saturday Clinic Mangers:

 Funding Source:

• Keenan Foundation
• Bostik Findley, Inc.
• Catholic Community Foundation