Giving The Gift of Your Time This Holiday Season

• By Suzanna Cisneros
• December 1, 2016

Bright lights, decorations, wrapped gifts and the excitement for the arrival of Santa Clause can be seen everywhere. Yet for many who are between jobs or homeless this holiday season, the holiday may bring empty holiday stockings and for many, no access to health care during the holidays and year-round.

 

With the holiday season, consider donating your time to The Free Clinic. Since 2009, The Free Clinic opens its doors every Wednesday night as an urgent care clinic for free basic health care for the uninsured, working poor and homeless population of Lubbock.

 

The Free Clinic is designed to be a learning experience where first- and second-year medical students can practice patient interaction before third year clinical rotations. For this to work, The Free Clinic needs experienced doctors and nurses to donate their time. The doctors work in a one-on-one basis with medical students, teaching them how to work with patients. The nurses teach medical students how to draw blood and complete laboratory panels.

 

At The Free Clinic, students begin to see patients at 6 p.m. and usually start consulting with physicians around 6:20 p.m. The last patient is seen by 9 p.m. Volunteering three hours every Wednesday is a large time commitment. The Free Clinic team understands that. Instead of 5 doctors that come every week, The Free Clinic team would benefit to have a group of 20 to 30 doctors that come once a month or once every other month. Similarly, if a group of 5 to 8 nurses could find time once a month or every other month to volunteer, the clinic would be running at optimal capacity.

 

If you would like to volunteer, please contact Kelly Bennett, M.D., at kelly.bennett@ttuhsc.edu for scheduling.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Garrett Meeks, The Free Clinic student liaison, at garrett.meeks@ttuhsc.edu.

 

The Free Clinic was chosen as the best agency of the year for 2016 South Plains Association of Social Workers. The recognition demonstrates the clinic has made a positive impact on Lubbock. It’s nice to know we have this positive effect on the Lubbock community. This is why we do it. It’s something that we care very deeply for. A simple gesture can make the holiday brighter for the patients we see. The patients and those who visit The Free Clinic always are so appreciative of the help.

 

As you make your list of presents to buy, remember, giving of yourself is the best gift of all.

 

Thank you,

The Free Clinic Leadership Team