For years, Zuhayr Shaikh volunteered with free clinics, helping provide quality health care to uninsured and under-insured patients.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit almost a year ago, Shaikh, now in his first year of medical school at the University of Virginia, got an email announcing that a clinic he had volunteered with had sent its volunteers home, worried about their safety, and was in urgent need of telehealth volunteers. Shaikh began thinking about all of the needs he had seen at the clinic that could be met virtually and, with more time on his hands as his courses shifted online and in-person work paused, he set about making it happen.
Now, Shaikh’s idea has turned into a full-fledged project – the Virginia Free and Charitable Clinic Telehealth Service Network – funded by a grant from the Clinton Global Initiative’s COVID-19 Student Action Fund. Launched in April with a virtual event hosted by President Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea, the fund identifies and supports students around the world who are committed to projects addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Shaikh’s case, the grant provided funding for several priorities, starting with the development of free volunteer recruitment software and strategies for free clinics across Virginia. Many of the volunteers tapped as part of his effort are interpreters, able to translate Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and several other languages, while others have specific health care expertise or experience. Their assistance helps clinics, including the Charlottesville Free Clinic, conduct safe and effective telehealth visits for patients to provide advice or arrange follow-up care as needed.
Shaikh, second from right on the fourth row, joined fellow grant recipients in a Zoom meeting with Chelsea Clinton, second from left on the third row. (Contributed photo)
Free clinic volunteers are now valued more than ever, Shaikh said, as the majority of free clinics across the country have reported increased demand for services since the pandemic hit. Over time, he hopes to expand the volunteer operation his is leading to serve clinics nationwide.
“We are working to create a volunteer recruitment tool that clinics across Virginia, and hopefully the country, can use to meet needs virtually,” Shaikh said.
When the pandemic began, he explained, there was no centralized way to recruit telehealth volunteers and distribute them among different clinics that need help.
“Someone might be looking for a way to help in Northern Virginia, but not realize that there are more opportunities elsewhere,” he said.
