Medical students and physician-faculty at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine have opened a free health clinic in northern Hamilton County in hopes of increasing access to health care services for uninsured Tristate residents.

The clinic is located in the Healing Center, 11345 Century Circle West, Springdale, Ohio, and will initially operate 9 a.m. until noon every Saturday. The first day of operation was July 13. The clinic was created by medical students, who will provide care under the supervision of physicians who are on the college’s faculty. Licensed interpreters also will be available for non-English speaking patients.

“Our long-term goal is to be a comprehensive primary care clinic that manages acute and chronic illnesses,” says Joseph Zegar, PharmD, who is entering his second year of medical school and is involved in the clinic’s operations. “Initially, we will operate like an urgent care type center handling flu, fever, infections, minor cuts and injuries. These are matters we can treat during one visit, but we hope to expand and offer more comprehensive care as we acquire more services for the community.”

The target audience is the region’s uninsured adult population, says Caroline Hensley, a medical student entering her fourth year who has spearheaded efforts to open the health clinic. As a master’s of public health student working at the Crossroad Health Center in 2016, she noticed many Spanish-speaking residents who lacked insurance. Many of them lived outside of the central city core and had unreliable transportation to access the clinic.