AAFP Foundation’s Family Medicine Cares USA
MeSCO Brings Health Care to Underserved Communities in Northwest Louisiana
Being insured doesn’t mean you’re adequately insured or have all of your health care needs met, said Maria Kerrigan Haupt, MS, a fourth-year medical student at LSU Health Shreveport and co-founder of the school’s Medical Student Charity Outreach Organization (MeSCO).
Kerrigan Haupt is also the executive director of MeSCO Community Health, a student-run free clinic and recipient of a $24,942.00 AAFP Foundation Family Medicine Cares (FMC) USA grant. FMC USA helps establish new clinics and awards grants to existing clinics for purchasing medical equipment and instruments.
“MeSCO is profoundly grateful to the AAFP Foundation for their generous support and trust in our mission,” said Kerrigan Haupt.
Since April 2023, MeSCO Community Health has served the Shreveport-Bossier community — among the most underserved regions of Louisiana. The clinic delivers fundamental medical services to uninsured and underinsured patients, mainly adults, including low-income.
“In our community, financial barriers and basic activities of daily life — even something as simple as transportation — often deter people from seeking necessary medical attention,” said Kerrigan Haupt.
Access is another issue, she pointed out, referring to the area as a “primary care desert.”
“A lot of our primary care physicians in this area have waiting lists that are very, very long,” she said.
To address these challenges, MeSCO made its free clinic a mobile unit that can be driven to a rotation of neighborhoods. Students at the clinic treat minor illnesses and injuries, provide OB/GYN wellness exams and manage chronic conditions from hypertension and heart disease to diabetes and asthma. They attend health fairs and educational events to improve medical literacy, and connect patients with additional community health resources, like free mobile screening mammograms.
The FMC USA grant enabled MeSCO to outfit its clinic with essential laboratory equipment. On-site testing capabilities include respiratory infections (strep, influenza, COVID-19 and more), sexually transmitted diseases, lipid panels, metabolic panels and A1C.
The AAFP Foundation collaborates with the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC) to ensure the clinics they support meet important quality standards. For the past two years, MeSCO Community Health has earned a gold rating, the highest level, from the NAFC Quality Standards Program.
While it draws students from all medical subspecialties, the clinic has piqued an interest in family medicine. Kerrigan Haupt said some students are surprised by its scope, noting that while a large component of family medicine is primary care, it affords ample opportunities to be involved in health care policy and advocacy, too.
Running a clinic has been an invaluable part of the students’ medical education. It’s also brought much-needed help to the patients they serve.
“This gift has not only empowered us to serve our community in a transformative way,” said Kerrigan Haupt, “but it has also made a lasting impact on the lives of those we are privileged to care for.”