Here Is One Example That Is Working!

We are all aware of the issues facing emergency nursing and the departments in which we practice. Patient safety, lack of access to specialty and follow-up care, and overcrowding are not new concerns. However, we finally may be able to see a light at the end of the tunnel as the nation and communities begin to focus on solutions. One solution in which emergency nurses and physicians play a key role is the Maliheh Clinic in Salt Lake City, UT.

This semester, I began my Family Nurse Practitioner Program clinical rotation. I heard about the clinic during our Magnet Survey in 2006. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) site surveyors praised the emergency department’s and the community’s efforts for the uninsured of Salt Lake City, many of whom are the working poor. The clinic is staffed by volunteer ED nurses and physicians from the Salt Lake City area. An emergency nurse serves as the Nursing Director.

The mission of the Maliheh Clinic is: “Quality health care is a vital necessity for each child and adult. The Maliheh Free Clinic will improve the life quality of uninsured families in the Greater Salt Lake Area by providing free medical services.” The clinic was named after the grandmother of the clinic’s benefactor, Maliheh Abdollahi. It stands as tribute to her generous spirit to assist others.

A major focus of the clinic is to prevent unnecessary visits to local emergency departments because of untreated illnesses, especially from chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension. Doctors, dentists, nurses, social workers, interpreters, and financial counselors are available to provide routine medical services. There are specialty medical volunteers, such as gynecological, orthopedic, and ophthalmological services. The clinic volunteers have also put together one-stop shopping information for things such as glasses, medications, and community resources; again, this is information that assists in preventing unnecessary use of the emergency department.

There used to be a time that hospitals routinely served their communities in this way. Is it the economy? Is it the business model of health care? Is it lack of health hygiene that has contributed to issues we now face in the emergency department? I do not know, but I do know that the Maliheh Clinic is filling an important need in our community, and emergency nurses and physicians were instrumental in leading the way.

Hopefully, this clinic and others like it will become more prevalent and obtain much needed financial and resource support from the proposed health care reforms of the new U.S. Presidential Administration. It is also important that nursing, medical professionals, and the general public continue to support these models with their volunteer skills. Maybe a model within hospitals that even support this volunteer time?

If you have an example in your community, please share it. As with anything good, the Maliheh Clinic takes time and dedication, and I salute my colleagues who volunteer their time and resources to make a difference! For more information about the Maliheh Clinic, please go to http://malihehfreeclinic.org.