MedZou: 15 Years of Service to Our Community

Dear Colleagues,

What is MedZou? I suspect some of you have heard the term used across our health system, but may not be aware of what it is, who runs it and how important it is as a way to deliver health care to the neediest in Columbia. MedZou is an outpatient clinic organized by our University of Missouri medical students under the supervision of School of Medicine faculty.

The clinic has been in operation since 2008 and serves individuals who need health care but do not have any insurance, so those without Medicaid, Medicare or traditional insurance. So, they are indeed in need.

When our incoming medical students arrive each August, they are asked if they want to volunteer for community service work. In 2023, the clinic was comprised of 117 student leaders and team members and 100 physician volunteers.

Mid-first-year to second-year medical students manage most of the operations at the clinic. They divide up duties, such as patient intake, seeing patients or providing medical pharmacy and food security assessments. There is always one or more physician faculty members present at the clinic, along with at least one family medicine resident physician. After a patient is seen by a student, the student presents the case to a resident physician and faculty member to get guidance. Then, the faculty member checks in with the patient, along with the medical students. I have attended the clinic and it is indeed an amazing operation.

I am seen here with two students, Kaylee Lewis, 2024 student director for patient advocacy, and Anvitha Boosani, an undergrad volunteer, along with Erik Lindbloom, MD, supervising physician at the clinic. I was proud to learn that as students enter their clinical rotations during their third and fourth years, many of the students continue to volunteer at MedZou to help see patients.

The MedZou clinic is housed in the MU Family Impact Center at 105 E. Ash St. and is open for primary care visits from 5 to 9 p.m. every Thursday. Additionally, MedZou offers several specialty services to provide a holistic health care experience.

It was a pleasure to visit the clinic and meet the students who are making a difference in the lives of our community. Since 2008, the clinic has served more than 2,200 patients over 7,000 appointments.

It receives funding to operate the clinic from generous donors. Each year, there is an annual MedZou banquet to thank donors and to also acknowledge the students who have gone above and beyond to assist in the clinic in various ways. I was privileged to attend the 14th annual banquet in November and meet the students and faculty who were recognized for their service.

Several faculty in our Department of Family and Community Medicine have served as advisers and frequent clinic volunteers for most, if not all, of MedZou’s existence. I would like to specially recognize the commitment of: Krystal Foster, MD; Debra Howenstine, MD, who retired from our medical school; Whitney LeFevre, MD; Erik Lindbloom, MD; Natalie Long, MD; and Jim Stevermer, MD.

I am very proud of the incredible work our volunteer students and faculty do to help the neediest in Columbia who need health care. As I have told the students many times, it is not only the skills they obtain in medical school that will make them great physicians, but also the empathy, compassion and mercy they show to patients in need. The MedZou clinic is indeed a place where empathy, compassion and mercy intersect to help make our student doctors outstanding physicians.

Sincerely,