|  Imani
Clinic: Healing Begins With Faith
Imani Clinic was the brainchild of
UC Davis medical students in the Student National Medical Association (SNMA),
an organization dedicated to improving outcomes--medical, academic, and social--among
members of the African-American community. Ten years of planning, research, and
negotiations were initiated because students became concerned about the staggering
and persistent morbidity and mortality from hypertension, heart disease, cancer,
and inadequate prenatal care among African-Americans. SNMA redoubled its efforts
in light of the apparent demise of Health Care Reform, and the serious threat
to universal access to health care posed by Proposition 187.
The clinic
opened on October 22, 1994, in the heart of the Oak Park neighborhood in South
Sacramento. This site was selected because of the ethnic diversity of the community--recent
census data indicates that 57 percent of the population are members of minority
groups and 80 percent of this community can be classified as working poor or unemployed.
Most of these people have no health insurance. "Imani" is the Swahili
word for "faith," and symbolizes the trust we hope to foster within
our community that the health care system will address their medical needs and
social realities. Imani Clinic is open every Saturday from 9:00 AM to
1:00 PM, and we generally see 10-15 patients--usually, at least half are Spanish-speaking.
Unlike the other clinics, we run as a "weekend extension" of the Sacramento
County primary care facility. The clinic is staffed by undergraduates who do intake
(checking height, weight and vital signs), lab work and create patient charts,
and by medical students who see patients under the supervision of 1-2 preceptor
physicians. Clinic affairs are managed by the undergraduate board which works
under the supervision of 4 medical student co-directors.
 Imani's
goals can be summarized as follows:
>>To provide preventive and episodic primary healthcare to
an underserved community without regard to address (or lack of one),
national/ethnic origin, immigration status, language, religion,
or ability to pay.
>>To expose medical students early in their training to the
complexities of providing community-based care to a diverse population
in which social, economic, and medical issues are intimately intertwined.
>>To provide undergraduate students interested in a career
in the health professions with the opportunity to experience first-hand
healthcare delivery in a community-based setting.
>>To foster early and lasting relationships between students,
healthcare professionals, and the community.
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