Children create artwork that will be pieced together and displayed as a mural in the SAMM TLLC.
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As many local families and friends gathered to celebrate the holidays, Richard P. Usatine, M.D., professor of family and community medicine at the Health Science Center, and the Health Science Center’s Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) brought joy to some of the less fortunate individuals living in San Antonio.

“The FMIG has a holiday party each year, but we wanted to do something different this time,” Dr. Usatine said. “Instead of having our own celebration, we decided to do something with the children at the San Antonio Metropolitan Ministry Transitional Living and Learning Center.”(SAMM TLLC)

Each Wednesday evening, Health Science Center medical students, residents and faculty members gather at the SAMM TLLC to provide a free clinic that is available to the dozens of homeless families living in the center. Without this free clinic, the residents at SAMM TLLC have limited access to health care.

“We decided to let the kids do some art work when we visited the SAMM on the afternoon it had its holiday lunch,” Dr. Usatine said. “Their work turned out beautifully, and we’ll now be able to make a collage of their artwork to display as a mural in the clinic.”

Before the eventful afternoon at the SAMM TLLC, Dr. Usatine and a group of medical students visited the Alpha Home Clinic– another free clinic started and run by Health Science Center students every Saturday. Alpha Home is a non-profit, long-term substance abuse recovery center. Many of the Alpha Home clients have not had adequate health care in years, resulting in a variety of medical issues.

“We’re beginning a smoking cessation program at the Alpha Home,” Dr. Usatine said. “The executive director is working together with us to encourage the women and employees to stop smoking.”

Dr. Usatine is the co-author of “Yoga RX,” a book describing how yoga can be used to treat medical conditions. He often encourages his patients to practice yoga.

“Many people claim that smoking is used as stress relief, so I taught the individuals at Alpha Home some yoga exercises and explained how yoga can be a better way to relieve stress,” he said.

Dr. Usatine said that with this new smoking cessation program, it is hoped to be able to create support for a smoke-free environment at the Alpha Home.

The Health Science Center Student-Run Free Clinic Program is a collaborative effort of medical students, residents, and faculty from the Health Science Center, in partnership with several community partners, including the Alpha Home and the SAMM.

Medical students gain vital experiences caring for underserved populations while giving back to their community. Students experience the joy of giving to others in need at the same time they learn clinical medicine. There are over 100 medical students working together in this program, which started only one year ago.