Alpha Omega Alpha
Medical Student Service Project Award Recipients
at University of California, Irvine College of Medicine
 
Recipients in 2003   Vinita Jain, Gary Gutkin, Stephanie Dittmer
 
Clínica Cariño is a student-managed organization at the University of California, Irvine College of Medicine (UCI COM) that provides basic preventive medical care and educational services to a population that may have little or no experience with the American health care system. Students from the medical school conduct screenings to detect and facilitate treatment of conditions ranging from diabetes and hypertension, to depression, to health issues affecting teens or women. They also administer childhood vaccinations, perform cardiopulmonary exams and educate the clinic participants in a wide range of health issues. All medically related activities are carried out under supervision and guidance by UCI staff physicians and residents. Medical students established the organization in 1997 as an outreach effort to the nearby medically underserved community of Santa Ana. Since its inception, Clínica Cariño has focused its effort in three areas, 1) disease prevention, 2) disease recognition, and 3) counseling and education services. In addition, the organization is committed to providing medical students with an opportunity to learn about community health issues and a forum to build basic clinical and medical Spanish language skills under the guidance of physicians and other health care professional mentors. The long-term goals are to open a student managed and staffed free clinic to better serve the medical needs of the residents of the 92701 zip code.
   
  Clínica Cariño is a partnership between the UC Irvine College of Medicine and the Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen, operating out of Saint Joseph's Church. The soup kitchen provides meals to over 350 individuals and families every Saturday between 9 AM and 1 PM. The church is located in Santa Ana, the most populous city in Orange County, with an estimated population of 337,977 people. Over 50% of the families in Santa Ana live below the Federal Poverty Level and 76.1% of the residents in Santa Ana are Latino. In addition, existing partnerships with organizations such as Saint Joseph's Church, Latino Health Access, and the Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics provide a network of services that supplement the basic health care provided by Clinica Carino.
   
  Clínica Cariño has enjoyed numerous accolades in the past year. We have presented research from the Diabetes and Hypertension Screening at the national American Medical Student Association Conference in March 2002 and won 1st place in the category of community service research from the National Health Service Corps. In addition, this research was presented at the Latino Medical Student Association Conference in Sacramento and the GSA Conference in Monterey in 2002. The Depression Screening data was presented at the Western Regional Meeting of the American Federation for Medical Research in Carmel, CA in January 2003. In addition, Clínica Cariño enjoys continued dedicated support from faculty and staff at the College of Medicine and UCI Medical Center. Articles about Clínica Cariño have been published in the Latino Medical Student Association statewide and local newsletters and the first issue of "Caring with Clínica," a yearly newsletter written by the members, was very well-received in September of 2002.