Student Health Action Coalition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Student Health Action Coalition (SHAC) is the oldest student-run free clinic in the United States at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
SHAC is run entirely by student volunteers from the UNC Schools of Social Work, Public Health, Physical Therapy, Pharmacy, Nursing, Medicine, and Dentistry. The students, under the supervision of UNC doctors and professors, combine their skills to hold weekly dental and health clinics, to care for home-bound elderly citizens, to create sustainable community health promotion programs, to build an annual Habitat for Humanity house, and to partner in activities with local health and social service organizations.
In 2004, SHAC saw 740 patients, more than 600 of which came from the immediate surroundings of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Durham, NC. Of the total patients seen, 83% reported that they are not insured, and that the SHAC clinic is their only source of primary care. Established in 1967, SHAC has always been dedicated to serving the underserved. In particular, the organization has attempted to redress the drastic differences in health indices between minorities and NC’s Caucasian population; in 2004, almost 60% of the patients seen were Hispanic, and the majority of patients seen had only a high school/GED-level or less education.
In addition to providing basic medical services, SHAC performs the essential function of educating patients about healthy behaviors. The organization relies heavily on the training and resources available to its public health students for one-on-one patient counseling regarding diet, exercise, smoking cessation and sexual health. Annual educational and disease screening projects include Well Child Clinics, Fiesta del Pueblo, and work at several other health fairs, including FestiFall, Apple Chill, and Effland’s Octoberfest. Ongoing SHAC Outreach projects include Diabetic Foot Clinics in Hurdle Mills and Nutrition Education and Cooking Sessions at Carrboro’s Club Nova.
SHAC also receives and implements grants from NC’s branch of Reach Out and Read, which the organization uses to educate patients about child literacy and to provide pediatric patients with free reading materials. In 2004, SHAC performed clinic referrals for over a third of the patients seen, a fact which indicates the organization’s interest in connecting the patients it serves with other established medical organizations. The organization is also dedicated to integrating its patients into the existing primary healthcare system; SHAC has now been enrolling patients in the Children’s Health Insurance Program for two years.
[edit] External link
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | |
|---|---|
|
Schools: School of Medicine • School of Law • School of Information and Library Science • School of Public Health • School of Pharmacy • School of Journalism and Mass Communication • School of Dentistry • School of Nursing • School of Education • School of Government • Kenan-Flagler Business School Scholarship Programs: Morehead Scholarship |
|
|
Athletic Program • Men's Basketball • ACC • Tar Heel • Rameses (mascot) • Kenan Stadium • Dean Smith Center • Carmichael Auditorium • Fetzer Field • UNC-Duke rivalry • South's Oldest Rivalry • UNC-NCSU rivalry • I'm a Tar Heel Born • Here Comes Carolina • Woody Durham • Tobacco Road |
|
|
Old Well • Old East • Davie Poplar • Silent Sam • Coker Arboretum • Morehead Planetarium • Student Health Action Coalition • Chapel Hill • Images • Frank Porter Graham Student Union • Franklin Street • Student Stores • libraries • Fetzer • Woolen • Student Recreation Center • Irwin Belk • Sonya Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History • UNC Hospitals • George Watts Hill Alumni Center • Ram's Head • Ram's Village |
|
|
The Daily Tar Heel • Student Television (UNC Chapel Hill) • WXYC • Carolina Student Biotechnology Network • Di Phi • Black Student Movement • Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Straight Alliance • Bounce Magazine • Company Carolina • Achordants • Carolina Undergraduate ACLU • Campus Y • UNC Dance Marathon • The Order of Gimghoul • Marching Tar Heels • Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship • UNC Young Democrats • UNC College Republicans |
|
|
Notable Alumni • Michael Jordan • Dean Smith • Roy Williams • Mia Hamm • James K. Polk • John Edwards • Paul Wellstone • Thomas Wolfe • Lewis Black • Andy Griffith • Jack Palance • Chris Matthews • David Brinkley • Charles Kuralt |
|
