Columbus Free Clinic team members communicate to keep the clinic running smoothly and provide free personalized treatment options for Columbus’ marginalized communities. Courtesy of Columbus Free Clinic
Doctor’s offices often have long wait times, paperwork and boredom. A different energy fills the small health clinic at the Northwood High Building just north of Ohio State’s campus — an energy full of smiles and gratitude for much-needed help.
Columbus Free Clinic, a recent recipient of Ohio State’s Community Partnership Award, is a student-run medical clinic offering outpatient health services to underserved Columbus communities at no cost, according to its website. The clinic operates every Thursday 5:45-10 p.m.
According to Ohio State’s Outreach and Engagement website, CFC provides health care to more than 1,200 underserved adults each year, thanks to a team of Ohio State students in medicine, advanced practice nursing, social work, pharmacy and community health.
Under the supervision of volunteer licensed medical providers, students are in charge of administering “culturally respectful integrated primary care,” which includes the assessment and treatment of acute and chronic health conditions, laboratory services, pharmacy, social services and behavioral health, according to the website.
Michael Marchioli, CFC student medical president and a second-year in medical school, said the clinic helps connect its population to health care.
“What we see with a lot of our population is that they have the means to pay somewhat, but don’t have the insurance to initially see a provider,” Marchioli said.
In addition to assessments and care in the short-term, Marchioli said CFC focuses on helping patients with ongoing care and offers both in-person and telehealth appointments.
Marchioli said psychiatry-specific clinics are organized every month with patients being evaluated and treated by psychiatry residents from The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.
Marchioli said social work services are also integrated into every patient’s visit to CFC, where patients are screened during check-in to identify resource needs and symptoms of depression, anxiety or at-risk substance use.
Jess Riley, a graduate student in social work, said a major role of the social work team is listening to patient needs and validating their experiences.
“People truly open up when they understand that you’re genuinely interested in listening,” Riley said. “Our psychiatry clinic does amazing work — many of our patients are able to improve during their time at psych clinic to where they no longer need our help, and it’s amazing to watch them get better and better.”
Following its mission of providing the best care possible, Riley said CFC frequently refers patients to other community agencies better suited to the patients needs, such as North Central Mental Health Services, an organization which receives funding to provide services at no cost to Columbus residents.
According to the website, CFC also features longitudinal care programs, including its Community Health Education program, which focuses on personalized care to help patients manage Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
Nichols said CFC seeks to build community partnerships to bring care to the communities which need it most by carrying out extensive specialty care clinics in fields including gynecology, psychiatry, neurology and nutrition.“Outreach tends to be a bigger focus of what CFC does,” Nichols said. “We partner with various community organizations throughout Columbus to provide health care within the communities and places where our patients are located.”
Nichols said CFC partners with Food Soldier Canteen and Resource center — a nonprofit food bank providing resources to military veterans — and Treats for the Streets, an organization working to provide resources and medical screenings for Columbus’ homeless population.
Nichols said CFC’s undergraduate advocacy team has been working to take more action on health care legislation, such as addressing language barriers. He said CFC has medical translators available to help patients through this process.
“Communication is often a barrier in getting access to care,” Nichols said. “Patients might be able to get themselves to the clinic, but once they’re in the clinic, it’s a question of how you effectively navigate that barrier.”
Marchioli said his time working as an emergency medical technician as an undergraduate helped him realize marginalized communities with less access to health care are often the most appreciative of it.
“I’ve greatly enjoyed my time here so far; just learning a lot more about access and the administrative part of getting these populations the medical care that they need and continuing care that they need,” Marchioli said.
Riley said CFC is a great resource for students to gain real-life experience in primary care fields.
“The clinic has shown me there are a lot of directions health care can take a social worker that are fulfilling and engaging,” Riley said. “I’ve also come away from clinic with a stronger appreciation for interprofessional collaboration — we all have so much to learn from each other.”
According to its website, CFC will host its next clinic, including a gynecology session, April 13 at 2231 N. High St.
