Student-Run Free Clinic Wins State Award

One year ago, NEOMED College of Medicine and College of Pharmacy students opened the SOAR Student-Run Free Clinic to provide quality health care, free of cost, to underserved residents of Portage County. In just over one year, 339 of these student volunteers have worked together to provide 2,255 hours of help.

Now, SOAR has received the major honor of being named the Free Clinic of the Year by the Ohio Association of Free Clinics. SOAR will be recognized at an awards ceremony on Nov. 29 at the Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery in Columbus.

The SOAR Student-Run Free Clinic (SRFC) operates in partnership with Student Outreach to the Area Residents (SOAR, LLC), a student organization established on the campus of NEOMED six years ago by Emily George, M.D. (’13). The clinic opened its doors to the public in September 2016, and has been providing free primary care and medication management services to those in need ever since. Students from both the College of Medicine and College of Pharmacy volunteer their time to serve in the clinic, as well as to manage operations. SOAR operates out of medical offices located in the NEOMED Education and Wellness (NEW) Center, 4209 State Route 44 in Rootstown.

The public is invited to help support SOAR at its annual Casino Night fundraising event, Nov. 17 in Regula Great Hall, located at 4209 St. Rt. 44 in Rootstown. For more information, contact clinic@outreachneo.org, outreachneo.org or facebook.com/SoarSRFC.