Starting a free clinic

BU Medical Sciences
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
tennisball80

tennisball80

Membership Revoked
Removed
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2008
Messages
3,434
Reaction score
3
There are many uninsured people in my current city. I'm interested in talking into some physicians and start a free clinic. We don't have a free clinic in our city.

What are some specific steps?

Is there a book something like "Starting a free clinic for dummies?"

Or where can I find a step by step guide?

Thanks for any advice. I really appreciate you guys.
Members don't see this ad.
 
Last edited:
I'd say if you are very serious, you MUST find people who have better connections and backgrounds in this sort of thing. Contact some non-profit orgs and simultaneously look for a physician who is willing to embark on such a large project with you (toughest part). You need to get "experts" on your team in order to be successful.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
tennisball80 said:
There are many uninsured people in my current city. I'm interested in talking into some physicians and start a free clinic.

What are some specific steps?
Click to expand...

Talk to some physicians first. It's a huge endeavor for them so I think you should make sure they're willing first. From there, you should probably look up what is needed to get a business license (and non-profit status) in your state as well as begin planning out exactly what population(s) you plan to target (maybe get someone from your school's school of business to help you with marketing research to find exactly what's needed as well as check what your physician(s) are willing to do and, therefore, what population(s) you could target effectively). You will, of course, need to find a place to base your operation out of, etc. It's really a pretty big thing to try and start. You sure you don't just want to join an established free clinic? Unless you have some serious connections and capital I really don't see this happening, frankly, but good luck! Let us know how it goes.
 
There certainly isn't a "starting a free clinic" for dummies type book but you may be able to find some useful books on starting a nonprofit organization that will contain useful information for you. It's a pretty hard endeavor and you should probably find some others (specifically doctors) who are passionate about that sort of thing. The money commitment is heavy.
 
The free clinic I work (volunteer) serves about 3000 full time clients. We are only open on Wednesdays from 4pm until about 8-9pm. The clinic is funded by some sort of grant that pays two people (one is an RN, not sure of the other) to operate and manage the clinic. The clinic relies on pharmacy volunteers to dispense the meds, social work volunteers for determining eligibility etc., psychiatrists and psychologists for mental health, nursing for intake and lab work, and primary care providers.

Specifically when open, our clinic houses 3 primary care providers made up of MDs/DOs and NPs, one or two nurses for intake, two pharmacists and a student pharmacists, a social worker and social work student, one or two mental health counslers and a few pre med and/or ameri-corp volunteers for reception. The two people who are paid by the grant to manage the clinic seek out programs and money/drugs/supplies from major health care corps. Also, since our clinic is comprehensive and able to refer patients to specialties, the managers also organize and coordinate the pro bono work.

We used to share our space with Public Health and thats why the hours were limited to Wednesday evenings. However, we recently moved into our own space but because of limited funding and availability of volunteers (physicians, pharmacists) we still have not been able to extend the hours. 🙁

Anyway, the point is, operating a free clinic is a ton of work. I don't think you would be able to do it as a full time pre med student gunner. You could however organize fund raising or write a grant and be part of a business proposal for a free clinic. 👍
 
Go to the nearest NP school. You might have better luck, and schools always want to look good.
 
oh, and I love your avatar OP. 😀
 
This is just an insane venture, even with strong connections. If you were to pull it off though, congrats, you might go to med school for free! 😛
 
loveoforganic said:
This is just an insane venture, even with strong connections. If you were to pull it off though, congrats, you might go to med school for free! 😛
Click to expand...

...Of course s/he'd have paid for med school equivalently through all the money spent on this program! j/k j/k... I think it's a really cool idea, OP, but I'd have to agree with everyone else that this isn't something you'd be likely to be able to pull of as a premed. You likely don't have nearly the resources nor the connections nor the time. It'd be an insane and costly endeavor -- honorable and noble, but still insane!
 
loveoforganic said:
This is just an insane venture, even with strong connections. If you were to pull it off though, congrats, you might go to med school for free! 😛
Click to expand...

It would be hard normally..But with this economy dang near like climbing Everest. But I don't want to be a nae sayer.
 
Great idea, huge task.

At my school, we often go to different homeless shelters. I would suggest asking the individuals who run ones in your area if they would be interested in having a doc and some students giving free medical care at their establishment. That way you have a location that you aren't paying rent and such. I'm sure they are also aware of how to get government $ to fund programs, so maybe they can give you some tips.

Biggest expenditure in my experience is medication. We give them free medication. My guest is most are paid for by govt $, but you could get in contact with pharm companies and see if they are willing to donate some meds. Things you will want: motrin/ibuprofin, tylenol, hydrochoorothiazide (hypertension med), some form of penicillin, claritin or other allergy med, benedryl. I'm sure there are many others.

You will also need equipment like an opto/otoscope, but 1 or 2 is sufficient, and the doc may be willing to bring his/her own.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Tell the truth. Did you just get done watching Grey's Anatomy? You have to have the balls and wits of Dr. Bailey to pull this one off buddy, good luck!!!
 
lol, you're a freshman in college and you want to start a clinic? Not to laugh at an ambition, but you need to get some experience in management first.
 
schrizto said:
lol, you're a freshman in college and you want to start a clinic? Not to laugh at an ambition, but you need to get some experience in management first.
Click to expand...
watch yourself.....you're also a freshman and you recently inquired about already taking graduate level courses (and then subsequently posted how hard intro bio is). There's room for more than one gunner around here. 😉


Starting a free clinic from scratch as a pre med frosh = probably a lil over ambitious

Fund raising, writing a grant, or being part of a business proposal to start a a free clinic = totally possible
 
I will give a try. Even if I fail, it's all right.
 
I admire your ambition. You'll need a ton of these:

:luck::luck::luck::luck::luck::luck:

👍
 
tennisball80 said:
I will give a try. Even if I fail, it's all right.
Click to expand...


That's right!

If she can become famous and get Broadway gigs right out of college by posting awful singing videos on YouTube:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKxFiJ78_YU&feature=player_embedded#t=83[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyLNZMyKF_I&feature=channel_page[/YOUTUBE]

...I see no reason the OP couldn't get such a clinic going from scratch, so as Miranda would say: "Haters back off!"
 
Last edited:
tennisball80 said:
There are many uninsured people in my current city. I'm interested in talking into some physicians and start a free clinic. We don't have a free clinic in our city.

What are some specific steps?

Is there a book something like "Starting a free clinic for dummies?"

Or where can I find a step by step guide?

Thanks for any advice. I really appreciate you guys.
Click to expand...
It's not impossible and something I have done.

It took the greater part of 2.5 years, extraordinary luck, better economic climate than what we are in now, extreme persistence, and a wide array of connections...

But it is possible and it is very rewarding.
 
tennisball80 said:
I will give a try. Even if I fail, it's all right.
Click to expand...

I seriously think you should do the free clinic day thing. Then while you are there you can network and see if you can find some interest in other providers to make an all the time or 9-5 free clinic.
 
buffywannabe said:
I seriously think you should do the free clinic day thing. Then while you are there you can network and see if you can find some interest in other providers to make an all the time or 9-5 free clinic.
Click to expand...

I was just wondering arent there a lot off legal issues to deal with here? or are you not liable because its free? Do you have to have physicians or can undergraduates manage the clinic for the day?

Also free clinic days seem definitely possible, but im not so sure its possible to actually start a weekly clinic while going to school
 
Everyone doing medicine was qualified. The people being served had to sign waivers.
 
All right guys. I will write down a plan this weekend. Hope we can keep in touch!

Thanks a lot my SDN premed bros!
 
tennisball80 said:
All right guys. I will write down a plan this weekend. Hope we can keep in touch!

Thanks a lot my SDN premed bros!
Click to expand...

You really think you can just sit down and come up with how to set up a clinic with absolutely no prior experience? I'm not being discouraging, I'm being realistic.
 
I understand that the free clinic I volunteered for got some funding from the nearest hospital. It is a good investment for them because these people would otherwise end up in their ER, costing them money by accruing preventable bills they cannot pay. So the hospital may be a good place to start, but I doubt they would take you too seriously.. May need to start by getting the help of an MD, ideally MD/MBA, but then it would effectively be their project. Personally this is one of my own potential long-term goals, but it would be something I do later in my career after I've been an MD for years.
 
I'm sorry man, but you will not be able to start a free clinic. I volunteered at a free clinic fulltime last year. The ppl who run the clinics are professionals, not undergrads. I'm talking ppl who have completed tons of graduate education and have now chosen to work at the free clinic for their profession. These are all business ppl, MPH ppl, public policy ppl, etc. Then, on top of all that, you need doctors to actually volunteer. Good luck finding doctors. There aren't too many doctors who want to give out free health care.

Oh and it is mainly funded on grants from the state, from private organizations, donations, etc. Someone said you're a freshman in college? Yeah, sorry man, I don't know what you're thinking. Too naive.

My advice to you is to VOLUNTEER at a hospital/clinic. You will be laughed at by professionals if you actually tried to start this. Plus, you have no money. No one is going to give grants to start a free clinic to a college freshman. No doctor is going to volunteer for a college freshman-run free clinic, either.

You don't need to start a free clinic to get into med school, btw. I know that's why you want to start it. 😉
 
tennisball80 said:
All right guys. I will write down a plan this weekend. Hope we can keep in touch!

Thanks a lot my SDN premed bros!
Click to expand...


here are the steps:

1) learn how to manage your time
2) Do well in your classes
3) do volunteer work
4) Take the MCAT
5) Apply to medical school
6) interview at medical schools
7) get accepted to medical schools
8) study hard
9) take step 1
10) do rotations
11) take step 2
12) do research
13) graduate
14) realize you're in $150,000 worth of debt
15) pay off all your loans
16) read this ppt: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2570545/How-To-Start-a-Free-Clinic
16) pay $10,000 worth of malpractice fees each year to start a clinic
17) Hire lawyers to work out the legal jargon, since you never went to law school since you were too busy *only* getting your MD
18) realize that you're 40 years old and half your life has passed you by
19) realize that, in the last 20 years, you've been trying to gun for an unsustainable work ethic


I like your ambition, but remember to focus on the work right in front of you, and let the results come to you. It also needs to be within the context of a life 😉, otherwise you're not going to be able to keep the work ethic up

goood luck!
 
1 more note. Notice how on that ppt, there are ppl who dedicate their entire lives to that free clinic. Somewhere in those steps, please insert:

*learn how to delegate responsibility*

😀
 
NotAsking4Much said:
It's not impossible and something I have done.

It took the greater part of 2.5 years, extraordinary luck, better economic climate than what we are in now, extreme persistence, and a wide array of connections...

But it is possible and it is very rewarding.
Click to expand...

Man, you did it bro.

I respect you.
 
FINALLY people are saying what I'm trying to say. I have a feeling that most of those who said it was possible to the OP were using sarcasm.

How are you going to raise enough money in a reasonable period of time to fund your clinic?
How will you know how to maximize the usage of the precious funding money?
How are you going to find a facility for your clinic?
How will you know what equipment and supplies to buy that will be most useful for your clinic?
How would you be able to keep the clinic running?
Etc, etc.

If you're going to start this yourself you will need a medical background, experience with health care management, connections.
No organization is going to donate money to a college freshman to start a clinic, no matter how good his intentions seem.

Starting a clinic should not be an EC but a lifelong endeavor.
 
Dude you're being really annoying. I guess you abide by your status "little premed gunner"....
 
schrizto said:
FINALLY people are saying what I'm trying to say. I have a feeling that most of those who said it was possible to the OP were using sarcasm.

How are you going to raise enough money in a reasonable period of time to fund your clinic?
How will you know how to maximize the usage of the precious funding money?
How are you going to find a facility for your clinic?
How will you know what equipment and supplies to buy that will be most useful for your clinic?
How would you be able to keep the clinic running?
Etc, etc.

If you're going to start this yourself you will need a medical background, experience with health care management, connections.
No organization is going to donate money to a college freshman to start a clinic, no matter how good his intentions seem.

Starting a clinic should not be an EC but a lifelong endeavor.
Click to expand...

Good point.

These questions need to be resolved.

I might fail miserably. But, I just want to see how fair I can go with passion and persistence.
 
Last edited:
Try starting really small. Maybe start out with a monthly blood pressure and blood sugar testing event for community members, run at a grocery store or pharmacy store. I remember this type of thing happening with health students in my hometown. Then once you've got that rolling, raise some money for a free vaccine clinic to happen a couple times a year. As you get people interested and show that you have results, you can start to get more help and money from community people and businesses, and can start offering more and more, and work your way up to what you're envisioning.
 
To put in perspective, I was very slightly involved one year in the planning of a one day annual health fair. This was, I think, the fifth fair. The health fair involved something like 6 physicians, 10 nurses, and a variety of professionals in medicaid, medicare, EMS, etc. The fair was organized by about 15 professionals in public health, administration, social work, and combinations of those just mentioned. The planning spanned about two months, and was a major time sink for all of those involved.
 
The plan is coming out this weekend.
 
I'm not offering medical advice, but I did just finish an interesting books on alternative medicine from the mayo clinic. Again NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, but it looked as though some "old wives' tales" might work, so if you found a real doctor willing to apply them your cost would be lower.

Also, consider starting with a really small number of patients at a homeless shelter (or someplace similar). Lots of patients would be expensive, but a small handful MIGHT be supportable with part-time work.

As per some of your critics...

schrizto said:
How are you going to raise enough money in a reasonable period of time to fund your clinic?
Click to expand...

It depends, if you can live within your means (think Catholic vow of poverty) then even a part-time income could support some patients.

schrizto said:
How will you know how to maximize the usage of the precious funding money?
Click to expand...

Economics is not all that difficult, and there are plenty of free financial management tools online.

schrizto said:
How are you going to find a facility for your clinic?
Click to expand...
This is harder, but I'm sure there are qualified people who need experience, charitable people who could donate some time (again start small), and consider (though it's incredibly unorthodox) the local prison. I once read about a prison with a program where select criminals, in their medical assisting program, got to volunteer at local hospices.

schrizto said:
How will you know what equipment and supplies to buy that will be most useful for your clinic?
Click to expand...
Again books and research. Basic medical care is not rocket science. An MRI machine might be out of the question, but plenty of countries (think refugee camps and Africa) have limited access to expensive technology, and (those who get it) still receive decent care.


schrizto said:
If you're going to start this yourself you will need a medical background, experience with health care management, connections.
No organization is going to donate money to a college freshman to start a clinic, no matter how good his intentions seem.
Click to expand...
@schrizto, I'd suggest reading the news a little more often. Plenty of kids let alone students are able to raise money for all kinds of medical things.



Try researching battlefield, third-world, and refugee medicine. These areas are often very resourceful with limited resources.

Overall, money is not everything. Soldiers in ancient Rome received care in many ways comparable to what we have today.

Finally, if you can't do actual medical care, then consider hosting classes, seminars, etc on healthy habits and the like (essentially what bunnity said)

Keeps us (or at least me) posted, this sounds very interesting.

Good luck.
 
Physics of Math said:
Try researching battlefield, third-world, and refugee medicine. These areas are often very resourceful with limited resources.

Overall, money is not everything. Soldiers in ancient Rome received care in many ways comparable to what we have today.

Finally, if you can't do actual medical care, then consider hosting classes, seminars, etc on healthy habits and the like (essentially what bunnity said)

Keeps us (or at least me) posted, this sounds very interesting.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

its an interesting thought, but do keep in mind that the OP is neither in a third world country, nor a battlefield, nor in refugee camps that necessitate triage conditions. He is in the united states of America, the most overlitigated country in the planet. Free clinics could thrive in disaster scenarios like Hurricane Katrina, but do understand that all action has a legal cost, that the benefit must outweigh this cost. Lets assume that the OP gets a part time job, at $15 dollars an hour, for 20 hours a week to entirely fund a clinic. with $300 (lets say he manages a 501c3 tax exemption) a week. He decides to build it up over 52 weeks to 15,600. You have now paid for less than 1 year of malpractice(~$25,000-1.4million for a large hospital)

question: why is the OP so intent on creating a free clinic? a true humility here would mean that OP understands his or her role in society as a freshman in college. The most useful way he can contribute is to focus on his grades, learn how to work hard and balance a life so that he doesnt burn out later in life when he has much more aptitude and resources to help, find reasons for that hard work other than just trying to get into med school to get a gf, and then finding a way to delegate the responsibility of a free clinic among the great colleagues he has worked with over the years.

time=money=opportunity. Later, he could do much more for every hour he spends investing in a free clinic. Now, he receives a minimal return. why the stubborness?

but i do like his feistiness/idealism.

however, at the end of the day, pragmatism interacts with the world. idealism is the creamy gooey center that dictates that pragmatism 🙂
 
He2 said:
its an interesting thought, but do keep in mind that the OP is neither in a third world country, nor a battlefield, nor in refugee camps that necessitate triage conditions. He is in the united states of America, the most overlitigated country in the planet. Free clinics could thrive in disaster scenarios like Hurricane Katrina, but do understand that all action has a legal cost, that the benefit must outweigh this cost. Lets assume that the OP gets a part time job, at $15 dollars an hour, for 20 hours a week to entirely fund a clinic. with $300 (lets say he manages a 501c3 tax exemption) a week. He decides to build it up over 52 weeks to 15,600. You have now paid for less than 1 year of malpractice(~$25,000-1.4million for a large hospital)

question: why is the OP so intent on creating a free clinic? a true humility here would mean that OP understands his or her role in society as a freshman in college. The most useful way he can contribute is to focus on his grades, learn how to work hard and balance a life so that he doesnt burn out later in life when he has much more aptitude and resources to help, find reasons for that hard work other than just trying to get into med school to get a gf, and then finding a way to delegate the responsibility of a free clinic among the great colleagues he has worked with over the years.

time=money=opportunity. Later, he could do much more for every hour he spends investing in a free clinic. Now, he receives a minimal return. why the stubborness?

but i do like his feistiness/idealism.

however, at the end of the day, pragmatism interacts with the world. idealism is the creamy gooey center that dictates that pragmatism 🙂
Click to expand...

I agree with this.

I own a small business. And it's really small. In this economy, making money is tough--even though I have training and know my business model, everyone is suffering, and making something work is really, really tough. I never knew it would be this tough. I've had to accept that my small business (an event-oriented service) will have to be a "whenever it happens it happens" business. I have the license, but I'm currently not pursuing anything. Between school, making a steady income from a part-time job, and applying for med school, it's just not feasible for me to devote as much time to the business as it would need to thrive. Med school apps come first.

So while I think a free clinic is a wonderful thing to support, I think that you'd be better off doing volunteer work and other things... what you're talking about is massive, and I just don't think it'll work out. But hey, I could always be wrong.
 
He2 said:
its an interesting thought, but do keep in mind that the OP is neither in a third world country, nor a battlefield, nor in refugee camps that necessitate triage conditions. He is in the united states of America, the most overlitigated country in the planet. Free clinics could thrive in disaster scenarios like Hurricane Katrina, but do understand that all action has a legal cost, that the benefit must outweigh this cost. Lets assume that the OP gets a part time job, at $15 dollars an hour, for 20 hours a week to entirely fund a clinic. with $300 (lets say he manages a 501c3 tax exemption) a week. He decides to build it up over 52 weeks to 15,600. You have now paid for less than 1 year of malpractice(~$25,000-1.4million for a large hospital)

question: why is the OP so intent on creating a free clinic? a true humility here would mean that OP understands his or her role in society as a freshman in college. The most useful way he can contribute is to focus on his grades, learn how to work hard and balance a life so that he doesnt burn out later in life when he has much more aptitude and resources to help, find reasons for that hard work other than just trying to get into med school to get a gf, and then finding a way to delegate the responsibility of a free clinic among the great colleagues he has worked with over the years.

time=money=opportunity. Later, he could do much more for every hour he spends investing in a free clinic. Now, he receives a minimal return. why the stubborness?

but i do like his feistiness/idealism.

however, at the end of the day, pragmatism interacts with the world. idealism is the creamy gooey center that dictates that pragmatism 🙂
Click to expand...

Good input.
 
Am I the only person here who noticed that the poster basically try to complete a ridiculous check list to get into med school? What the hell is wrong with this dude.

I don't think he has the passion to pull this through for one bit.
 
MSSM2013 said:
Am I the only person here who noticed that the poster basically try to complete a ridiculous check list to get into med school? What the hell is wrong with this dude.

I don't think he has the passion to pull this through for one bit.
Click to expand...

I do not have a check list to get into medical school. I am doing the things I enjoy.

Since my town does not have a free clinic and I have heard there are a lot of un-insured people, I am planning to do something to help these people.

I understand that starting a free clinic requires a lot of effort. Maybe I won't be able to do it. But I can always start something small and help the community.
 
question: is that really the most pressing need for YOU to help? i dont doubt you have passion, but it doesnt seem to be in helping people. I'm not saying that to be mean, but its just what it strikes me as.

I'll explain: since you could only help so marginally, you are not putting yourself in a situation where you can help people the most, which would seemingly should make you happy. Even if you succeed, you have beaten such small odds that all that is saying is that you were totally willing to risk failing at helping people....even though you claim to want to help people.

why are you so willing to fail(at the reward of high payoff)/work at such a marginal level of help?

there are tons of opportunities for you to be very important to already existing systems.

thus, the very blatant notion that it is a checklist, which is what it strikes me as. you have a passion to do things to help you get into medical school. Theres nothing wrong with that per say, but there is something wrong with that when there is no intent to serve the purposes of a physician, which is to serve society. You are not really serving society by shooting for the moon all the time. you are just saying you are more than willing to not serve society.

its like someone saying they work hard every day to support their family by spending all of their money on lottery tickets. no one would consider this a noble act.

or, maybe you have a passion for healthcare. A great purpose!

consider volunteering at existing hospitals, creating connections (best done through a mentor-mentee relatiomnship at this stage in your life), earning more responsibility...then using the already existing resources towards the community in need with the influence you have earned over time?

thats a really tough scenario, but already one that makes more marginal sense than creating an entirely new free clinic with no seed money or resources.

as i said before, and ill say again. I dont mind your enthusiasm. I dont mind your ridiculous desire to have the next paul farmer resume for med schools. I think its a great learning process.

but make sure you start asking yourself why you're doing the things you're doing...ok?

🙂
 
tennisball80 said:
I do not have a check list to get into medical school. I am doing the things I enjoy.

Since my town does not have a free clinic and I have heard there are a lot of un-insured people, I am planning to do something to help these people.

I understand that starting a free clinic requires a lot of effort. Maybe I won't be able to do it. But I can always start something small and help the community.
Click to expand...


one last note. you mention how there are lots of uninsured people. That does not = free clinic. There are many other ways to deliver health care to a population. Perhaps a more effective way to deliver healthcare is to find clever solutions to providing health subsidies. Maybe creating insurance pools among the townspeople? Theres a million ways to skin that cat. the free clinic seems to be one of the most inefficient ways to do this.

hence why your reasoning does not pass the "smell" test.
 
He2 said:
one last note. you mention how there are lots of uninsured people. That does not = free clinic. There are many other ways to deliver health care to a population. Perhaps a more effective way to deliver healthcare is to find clever solutions to providing health subsidies. Maybe creating insurance pools among the townspeople? Theres a million ways to skin that cat. the free clinic seems to be one of the most inefficient ways to do this.

hence why your reasoning does not pass the "smell" test.
Click to expand...

but free clinic sounds like such an amazing EC!
 
He2 said:
one last note. you mention how there are lots of uninsured people. That does not = free clinic. There are many other ways to deliver health care to a population. Perhaps a more effective way to deliver healthcare is to find clever solutions to providing health subsidies. Maybe creating insurance pools among the townspeople? Theres a million ways to skin that cat. the free clinic seems to be one of the most inefficient ways to do this.

hence why your reasoning does not pass the "smell" test.
Click to expand...

I have actually never thought about that.

What are some other ways to provide health care to people?

Creating insurance pools sounds very complicated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
  • Question Question
Starting a New Application While Accepted?
Replies
9
Views
1K
LizzyM
LizzyM
W
Too late to start new clinical volunteering?
Replies
6
Views
857
AJS59
AJS59
S
LoR from a clinical experience
Replies
2
Views
465
AJS59
AJS59
P
Free medical assistant certification program?
Replies
2
Views
2K
systematicX
S
D
What exactly is a clinical informatics fellowship?
Replies
11
Views
435
doctorendgame
D
Top