School supports Free Medical Clinic

It's been 10 years since Dr. Todd Crump first volunteered at Columbia's Free Medical Clinic, and his enthusiasm has hardly waned.

Today, in fact, he's the clinic's medical director and works with a new generation of students - not to mention faculty and staff - from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.

"It's exciting to see a patient come in with hypertension, begin a high blood pressure medication, and return to the clinic with their blood pressure and sugar under control," says Crump, a School of Medicine alumnus. "These are people who would otherwise go without care."

Multiply that excitement in helping one patient by 100,000 patients treated since the clinic opened its doors in 1984 and you get a sense of the medical impact in the community, particularly by helping control long-term illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, and asthma.

The Free Clinic relies heavily on the assistance of volunteer nurses and physicians, including School of Medicine personnel, to offer health care to Columbia's needy. The school and the clinic have been partners since the clinic was established 23 years ago.

Rev. Bill Bouknight and the Bethlehem Center established the Free Medical Clinic on May 24, 1984. The School of Medicine faculty expressed overwhelming support for Bouknight's vision to bring healthcare to Columbia's underprivileged community, and a commitment to servitude was forged.

"The Free Medical Clinic is a good educational opportunity but also teaches students early on of the importance of helping people," Crump says.

The school's internal medicine residents, under the instruction of Dr. Ramie Cox, volunteer three times a month to perform clinical operations. Family practice residents in the School of Medicine also support the clinic as volunteer providers.

The clinic offers primary care, medications and diabetic supplies, patient education, referral services, and 24 specialty services to its patients. Dr. Richard Hoppmann, associate dean for medical education and academic affairs and a longtime volunteer, provides specialty services monthly in rheumatology.

With the expanding volunteer base, the clinic has increased its operating hours to five days a week. The clinic is open 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday for all services and 9 to 11:30 a.m. Friday for patient education.

"The Free Clinic is able to operate at no cost in part because of the great contributions by the USC School of Medicine," clinic Executive Director Dennis Coker says.

4th Year medical students host an annual Black Tie White Coat Gala that has contributed more than $76,000 to the clinic since the event began in 2002. In addition, the school's annual fun run-walk has raised in excess of $15,000 for the Free Clinic. Donations on behalf of the community and the School of Medicine enabled the clinic to distribute $2.5 million worth of prescription medication last year.

The School of Medicine was recognized for its tireless volunteer efforts and financial support in 2005 with the clinic's Legacy Award. "We are fortunate to benefit from the School of Medicine's tremendous support to enable us to accomplish our mission," Coker says.

For more information about the free clinic and volunteer opportunities, please call (803) 765-1503 or visit The Free Medical Clinic online at www.freemedclinic.org.

"The Free Clinic is able to operate at no cost in part because of the great contributions by the USC School of Medicine," clinic Executive Director Dennis Coker says.

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