Ita Ford Health Team

Through the cooperative efforts of Mount Sinai student volunteers and health care professionals, the Ita Ford and Bill Kelly Health Clinic aims to provide quality, ongoing healthcare for members of the East Harlem community. The clinic was founded in 1997 by two nurse practitioners, who felt that in their work environment they were unable to provide the time and attention they desired for each individual patient. At the Ita Ford Clinic, students join the founding nurse practitioners and their co-workers to provide in-depth care. In conjunction with health care professionals, students take patients' history and physical, and provide patients with counselling, as well as low-cost or free medications and blood testing. The majority of the patients are Spanish-speaking immigrants who would not otherwise have access to health care, but who at the Ita Ford Clinic find reliable, ongoing care available alternating Saturdays between 9:00 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. Historically the clinic has had a close relationship with SEOM, members of which have provided the core of Ita Ford’s volunteers. As a club, the clinic hopes to continue this fruitful relationship and foster broader participation among the student body, in addition to recruiting more N.P. and M.D. volunteers, so that the clinic can provide care on a weekly basis.

For more information, contact studentc@mssm.edu.