South Side Clinic

The South Side MEDIC Clinic was established in November of 1992 in response to medical student interest in more clinic volunteer opportunities. The clinic serves uninsured residents of a largely low income, racially and culturally diverse neighborhood in Madison. During the week the clinic functions as Madison Community Health Center. The clinic has several well-equipped exam rooms and a small lab on site. Sixty percent of the patients seen are adults; forty percent are children. Only patients with acute problems will be treated. At the present time, routine physical examinations, pelvic examinations, treatment of STDs, immunizations, mental health treatment, and care for patients with complex or severe chronic conditions are not available at the clinic. The Department of Family Medicine provides administrative support.

Student Roles:
Each week four first and second year medical students and one physician assistant student pair to form clinical teams. Students negotiate their roles during the patient encounter based on their knowledge, skill, and comfort level. First year medical students are typically paired with more experienced second year medical students. Less experienced students often observe initially, but are then encouraged to play a more active role in the patient encounter. The student team accompanies the patient from the waiting area to an exam room, takes the patients weight, height, vital signs, and health history, and performs a focused physical examination to the best of their ability. Breast and genital exams are not performed by students. Findings are presented to the attending or resident physician who then sees the patient and assists students with the assessment and treatment plan, and chart notes. The faculty (attending) physician must co-sign the charts when completed.

Please be aware of confidentiality issues when discussing patients in the staffing area!

Contact Ariel Chairez (email: chairez@wisc.edu) or Meghan Pesko (email: mcpesko@wisc.edu>) if you have any questions.

Physicians, Staff, & Patient Population:
The South Side MEDIC Clinic provides free medical care to children and adults without health insurance or a primary care physician. The South Side MEDIC Clinic sees patients on a walk-in basis; however, patients can be rescheduled for follow-up appointments at a later date. Because many patients speak Spanish, Spanish-speaking students are scheduled each week.

The clinic is staffed each week by one volunteer primary care physician and resident. Dr. Cindy Koren is the Medical Director.

The student coordinator orients medical teams to clinic procedures. The administrative coordinator provides administrative support and also collects intake information, monitors patient flow, locates supplies, schedules return appointments, and coordinates referrals to other community resources or providers, with the assistance of a pre-medical student at the reception desk.

Please review the South Side Guidlines. Questions or problems regarding clinic operations should be brought to the attention of the clinic administrator or student coordinator.

Services:
Because the South Side Clinic is seeing an increasing number of patients, services will be limited to care for minor illnesses and injuries, health and social service information and referral, and medications for non-chronic conditions. Lab and X-ray services are provided with no charge by St. Marys Hospital Medical Center to patients who need these tests and are unable to afford them. At the present time, routine physical examinations, pelvic examinations, treatment of STDs, immunizations, mental health treatment, and care for patients with complex or severe chronic conditions are not available at the clinic. An effort is made to direct patients needing those services to appropriate low-cost community resources.

Location:
The South Side MEDIC Clinic is located in the South Madison Health and Family Center at 2202 S. Park Street. (take Park Street South almost to the Beltline, turn right at Buick St.) The clinic is in a building that used to be a bowling alley, surrounded by a large parking lot.