Free Student-Run Clinic Moves to Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education

For the past 10 years, Wake Forest School of Medicine students, under the supervision of physicians from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, have delivered health care to underserved populations at the DEAC (Delivering Equal Access to Care) Clinic.

The free student-run clinic has relocated into the School of Medicine’s Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education, in downtown Winston-Salem’s Innovation Quarter.
Previously housed in the Community Care Center on New Walkertown Road, the clinic provides exams, bloodwork, medication and education on healthy lifestyle choices, along with specialty clinics in areas such as cardiology, pulmonology and dermatology.

“Being involved in this clinic provides hands-on training for those of us who are medical students and reinforces our passion for delivering high-quality health care to those who are underserved,” said Sophie Claudel, third-year medical student at Wake Forest School of Medicine and co-director of the DEAC Clinic. “We are so excited to continue our tradition of serving the community, by sharing this new and beautiful space with those who need help the most.”

Last year, the DEAC Clinic became the first student-run clinic in North Carolina to receive accreditation from the North Carolina Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, the network of health care facilities that offer free and affordable health care throughout the state.

“We are very excited about the clinic’s new location, and we remain deeply grateful to the Community Care Center leadership and volunteers for their years of support,” said Mary Claire O’Brien, M.D., senior associate dean for healthcare education at Wake Forest School of Medicine. “Thanks to our students, physicians and volunteers who give of their time, combined with generous donations from the community, we are able to serve hundreds of people each year.”

Last year, 486 student volunteers contributed more than 6,200 hours of service.