Student-run Equal Access Clinic Network
receives finanicial boost from UF Medical Guild
THE 2019 UF COLLEGE OF MEDICINE RESEARCH POSTER SESSION was held in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Feb. 19.
The event attracted 1,270 colleagues, friends and family viewing 532 posters.“This annual opportunity for all of us to be together in a single room to share
our knowledge, celebrate our latest research discoveries and find new collaborations has become part of the College of Medicine’s culture,” said UF College of
Medicine interim dean Joseph A. Tyndall, MD, MPH.
PHOTOS BY MINDY C. MILLER
By JOAN ANDREK
Diane Yang, past president of
the UF Medical Guild, pictured
with Joseph A. Tyndall, MD,
MPH, interim dean of the UF
College of Medicine.
Six decades ago, the wives of faculty
members at the fledgling UF College
of Medicine banded together to form a
volunteer organization rooted in service
to the UF Health community. Since then,
members of the UF Medical Guild have
devoted themselves to funding student
scholarships, providing program grants
for UF Health and the surrounding
Gainesville community and supporting
the hospital system in its mission of
providing compassionate, high-quality
care for patients.
Since its inception, the UF Medical
Guild has contributed more than $1.5
million to these causes. To mark its 60th
anniversary, the organization is stepping
forward to support a vital student
program at the UF College of Medicine
while also impacting the region’s
medically underserved. Through a gift of
$250,000, the UF Medical Guild created
an endowment for the Equal Access
Clinic Network, a free medical service
in the Gainesville community staffed
entirely by medical, nursing, pharmacy,
public health and dentistry students
under the guidance of UF Health faculty.
“Our committee worked for over
18 months with two main goals in
mind,” said Lynn Newman, the UF
Medical Guild’s anniversary committee
chair. “The first goal was to recognize
and commemorate the six decades
of friendship, volunteerism and
philanthropy of the many Medical Guild
members. The second was to select
a recipient that resonates with the
philosophy of the Guild members and
provide a gift that would be enduring
and serve an unmet need. The Equal
Access Clinic Network was a perfect fit,
and we are pleased to contribute to its
continued success.”
The Equal Access Clinic Network’s
mission is two-fold: to give students in
the health professions opportunities
to engage in leadership roles and gain
hands-on experience while providing
much-needed health care to the
area’s underserved population. The
clinics operate in a different location
each evening, Monday through
Thursday, and offer free primary
care and specialty services. In a
year, the clinics handle upward
of 2,500 visits with patients who
otherwise would have limited
options for medical care.
Equipment, supplies and the
costs of care coordination and
health outcomes monitoring
are borne by the Equal Access Clinic
Network, making this endowment
a virtual lifeline for operational
sustainability.
Joseph A. Tyndall, MD, MPH, interim
dean of the UF College of Medicine,
joined UF Medical Guild leaders and the
student leaders of the Equal Access Clinic
Network for a brief ceremony Jan. 8 to
sign the gift commitment.
“We are deeply grateful not only for
the many decades of contributions from
the UF Medical Guild,” Tyndall said, “but
especially for their decision to provide
enduring support for a program that
hones the skills of our students and
instills and reinforces the concepts of
compassionate and comprehensive care
for those in need.”
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PHOTO BY MINDY C. MILLER
Through a gift of $250,000, the UF Medical Guild created
an endowment for the Equal Access Clinic Network,
a free medical service in the Gainesville community.
DOCTOR GATOR | 9