December 4, 2014

This year, we commemorate the College of Pharmacy's highly-valued 10-year collaboration with Hope Clinic.

Hope Clinic, located in Ypsilanti, MI, offers free medical care, dental care, and a variety of social services to uninsured members of the community.

Each year, Hope Clinic provides approximately 6,800 medical visits and 4,500 dental visits, fills $2.5 million worth of prescriptions, serves over 5,000 hot meals, and distributes over 12,000 bags of groceries.

Hope Clinic is able to provide this quality and quantity of care thanks to an extensive network of volunteers and partnerships with local churches, agencies, and other companies in the Ann Arbor area.

In 2004, the College formed a partnership with Hope Clinic, which began with a small number of faculty and students providing medication dispensing services.  Soon thereafter, students in an elective service-learning course tackled special projects to improve medication use at the clinic.

Fast forward 10 years and the partnership has grown to include participation of nearly 140 pharmacy volunteers.  These volunteers provide complete coverage of the medication room during walk-in clinics and an annual free flu clinic. Student coordinators manage the orientation and scheduling of all student pharmacists. In addition, a team of service-learning students assist with patient advocacy and clinic administration. Through these services, volunteers - including students, faculty, alumni, and preceptors - contribute over 2,500 hours of service each year while addressing unmet needs of the medically underserved.

“This partnership has been beneficial to both Hope Clinic and our students. Hope Clinic gets willing volunteers to staff the medication room and provide excellent pharmaceutical care to patients. Student pharmacists have the opportunity to learn about the complex issues of those without health insurance, especially regarding social justice, access to care and other social determinants of health. Students develop their communication skills and clinical abilities as they interact in a highly interprofessional collaborative care model at Hope Clinic,” states Nancy Mason, PharmD’81, Associate Dean for Student Services and Clinical Professor.

In 2011, the College’s partnership with Hope Clinic was one of three finalists for the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership for Campus-Community Collaboration Award, which is given to university and community group partnership that addresses public needs in health and safety. Read the full article.

Learn more:
History of Hope Clinic
Volunteering with Hope Clinic