Anna Loshakov of Hazleton, medical student at Geisinger Commonwealth, helps take primary care to the needy

2017 Jan 11

Anna Loshakov of Hazleton, a third-year medical student at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, recently led a student effort to bring primary care to the homeless.

For far too long, the U.S. health system has relied on hospital emergency departments to render primary care to the poor and uninsured. Not only is this expensive, it's also ineffective. The ER is not equipped to provide the long-term, relationship-driven care that people with diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure require. Yet this is precisely where many poor and homeless people go, often after an untreated chronic illness - one that should have been managed in a primary-care setting -- has touched off an actual health emergency.

This was the problem that the studet leadership of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's AMA (American Medical Association) Chapter decided to tackle with the help of a small grant from the AMA.

"The grant we received was an SIG (Section Involvement Grant) grant. The AMA provides these to chapters for events and fundraising," said Anna Loshakov, who is chair of TCMC's chapter. Anna said she joined the student chapter as a first-year medical student because she is interested in learning how doctors can work to influence policy. Jessica Briscoe is vice chair of the chapter and she voices a similar thought. "I hope, through the AMA, to understand politics and have a voice for patient advocacy," she said.

The pair, along with other student members of the chapter, decided the best use of the grant was to take primary care to the needy. They set up a blood pressure screening, with dipstick urine test for diabetes, at Scranton's Community Intervention Center (CIC), which offers homeless services, in addition to addiction and mental health services. Two faculty members and 14 Geisinger Commonwealth students volunteered for the screening, held Jan. 7. The AMA grant money was used to provide bus passes to screening attendees in need of follow up appointments.