Healthcare heroes

The student doctors at SHSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine (SHSU-COM) have taken to the streets to help underserved populations in need. Partnering with the Montgomery County Homeless Coalition and the Conroe Salvation Army, students and faculty are providing monthly health screenings and health education to vulnerable members of the local community.

“We helped one person find immediate shelter and healthcare, keeping him out of the emergency room,” said Shannon Jimenez, chair of primary care and clinical medicine. “Others signed up for community assistance, including Medicare and Medicaid, and we referred several to local community health centers for chronic disease management. We also diagnosed a new diabetic, a potentially serious medication error, and others with serious high blood pressure and cholesterol issues.

SHSU-COM welcomed its first class of 75 students in August 2020. Over the next two years, the college expects to double that number to 150 — its full class size capacity. As the school grows, so can these community pop-up clinics.

Over the next five years, SHSU-COM hopes to open a mobile clinic with basic medical services like vision and hearing screenings, taking vitals, cholesterol and blood sugar tests and measuring height and weight. But along with basic medical services, these pop-up clinics will connect clients with other services to meet basic needs. Once the unit is up and running — likely grant-funded — it could be operational across the medical school’s service area, which includes east and southeast Texas.

“We would love to have this community medical outreach grow. We want to be able to serve all the needs of our community,” Jimenez said. “This is what students go into healthcare for — to be able to help people in need. It does a lot for advancing their education as well, because it helps put what they are learning in the classroom into their hands right away.”

Sam Houston State University’s contributions to the well-being and quality of life in Texas began over 140 years ago when the university was established to help raise the state’s educational standards through teacher training. Today, SHSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine is responding to another critical need created by a critical shortage in primary care physicians. Welcoming its inaugural class of student doctors in August 2020, this new generation of physicians will help improve healthcare access for millions of Texans living in rural and underserved communities.