LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Greater Louisville Outpatient Health, or the GLOH Clinic, is a free after hours outpatient clinic run by University of Louisville medical students. The clinic has been passed down every year to the next medical student class.

What You Need To Know

  • The Greater Louisville Outpatient Health, or the GLOH Clinic, offers free health care services to underserved populations in the community

  • The clinic was shut down because of COVID, and this is the first year they have the clinic back up and running

  • Students treat acute medical problems and providing basic lab testing like urine tests, pregnancy test, strep throat and COVID tests

  • The clinic is open Monday nights from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Iroquois Family Health Centers

“The medical students will see the patients, and then they’ll also be seen by the attending physician,” explained second-year medical student Priyadarshini Chandrashekhar

Chandrashekhar says the clinic was shut down because of COVID and this is the first year they have the clinic back up and running.

“[We] get practice, and we’re also able to serve the underserved populations in Louisville. A lot of people have transportation issues getting to the hospital. So it’s really nice that they have this clinic just in case that they don’t have access to care anywhere else,” Chandrashekhar shared.

Students treat acute medical problems and providing basic lab testing like urine tests, pregnancy test, strep throat and COVID tests. Second-year medical students Nina Grau says this clinic gives them real-life experience.

“At school right now, we just see sterilized patients. So they’re kind of like actors who follow a script and know exactly what symptoms to portray. But then this is like real life. We never know what’s going to come through that door,” said Grau.

Attending physician Christopher McClellan has been practicing for 20 years. When he was in school at UofL, he volunteered at a free clinic. He says he really enjoys making a big difference in the community in this way.

“I hope that people will realize that there are people and that are willing to give their time, that are doing it for free, that there’s no strings attached and really to be able to satisfy a need within the community and at the same time make it worthwhile for the students and for the community at large,” said McClellan.

Second-year medical student Grace Werner says the primary goal of this GLOH Clinic is to make an impact on the community and provide health care to those who need it most.

“You can definitely see, the underserved populations, that the health care system really takes its toll on them. And I think this clinic, with it being, you know, a free clinic, being after hours, just really allows us to really serve that population,” said Werner.

Chandrashekhar says working at the clinic has given her a different perspective.

“I realized that a lot of like medicine, patient care, is much more than the 15 minutes that I have. Taking the patient’s history and treating them in the patient room is also like a lot of like the behind-the-scenes work,” said Chandrashekhar.

Students are trying to expand The GLOH clinic’s services to other languages, start a food pantry, and provide STD testing, along with other specialized needs for the community. The clinic is open Monday nights from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Iroquois Family Health Centers.

Related Stories