Clarke Square is national model for health care

Clarke Square Family Health Center – the nation’s only comprehensive health care clinic in a grocery — represents the future of family medicine, according to UW–Madison leaders involved in the project.

The two-year-old clinic illustrates “the way health care will look 10 years from now” – neighborhood-based, with extended hours and low costs, says Nick Turkel, associate dean of the UW Medical School.

The Clarke Square clinic, part of Pick ‘n Save Mega Mart, 1818 W. National Ave., is one of 11 urban Milwaukee neighborhood clinics that serve more than 200,000 people a year. Staffed by Medical School faculty, Clarke Square also gives UW students, residents and young physicians a chance to work in family medicine.

UW–Madison maintains nearly 100 sites throughout Wisconsin where medical students work with local physicians to learn firsthand the rewards and challenges of general medical care. Established in 1926, the program is the oldest in the nation.

The Clarke Square Family Health Center is jointly operated by the UW–Madison Department of Family Medicine, Aurora Health Care, and Sinai Samaritan and St. Luke’s medical centers. The clinic features an on-site doctor, four nurses, a half-dozen exam rooms and sliding-scale fees for services. Clinic hours are 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturdays and noon-3:30 p.m. Sundays.

And on Monday, Feb. 15, there will be deans among the beans at the Clarke Square grocery. UW–Madison nursing, pharmacy and medical school leaders plan to visit the clinic from 10:30 a.m.-noon for a presentation highlighting ties between the university and residents statewide. The gathering also aims to highlight the many ways in which the university has contributed to improved health care in Wisconsin during the last 150 years.

Besides Turkel, scheduled speakers include Melvin Weinswig, dean of the UW School of Pharmacy, and Vivian Littlefield, dean of the UW School of Nursing. The event also will feature remarks by Clarke Square medical director Don Carufel-Wert, clinic supervisor Mary Prophal, clinical associate professor Connie Kraus from the UW School of Pharmacy and clinical instructor Regina Dunst from the School of Nursing.

UW–Madison heath care partnerships extend statewide. About 125 family practice residents from the UW Medical School and more than 70 faculty provide primary health care for over 70,000 people at nine other clinics in Milwaukee, Appleton, Eau Claire, Wausau and Madison.

In partnership with the private health care organizations and a variety of social services, the UW School of Nursing provides essential basic health care to the state’s under-served and under-insured through nurse-managed clinics and health education, all within a setting that also promotes research and clinical experience for university undergraduate and graduate students.

School of Nursing faculty and staff are currently embarking on a comprehensive program, called WISTREK, to bring health science education to members of minority populations who will serve as practitioners in their own communities.