Written by: Carrie Meyer
The idea for a student-run free health clinic at UNMC emerged in the late 1990s, championed by then-students Sharon Stoolman, MD, and Christopher Connolly, MD. On September 10, 1997, with 80 UNMC students and 25 physicians, the SHARING Clinic opened at UNMC’s South Omaha location. Opening night, they treated 10 patients. Since then, SHARING clinics have expanded to four entirely student-led clinics and have treated thousands of patients.
For almost 30 years, UNMC’s SHARING clinics have served Omaha with high-quality, low-cost preventative health care, where students applied knowledge to help real people, and where health care professionals mentored students and built relationships with their community members. Hundreds of UNMC volunteers, both faculty and students, serve thousands of community members with high quality services including examinations, laboratory testing, imaging, prescription medications, physical and occupational therapy, and mental health services, all free of charge.
The newest exhibition installation in the Wigton Heritage Center explores the origins and impact of UNMC’s student-run clinics. The physical and online exhibitions explore the various clinics, historic milestones of SHARING, and highlights 20 oral histories recorded to preserve the origins and impact of student-run clinics here at UNMC.
To learn more about getting involved in SHARING, please visit:
https://www.unmc.edu/sharing/about/get-involved.html