The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med) is working to address health care disparities in Nevada’s remote and underserved regions. Of the state’s 17 counties, 11 are classified as frontier and three as rural. Access to medical care in these areas is limited. Residents often rely on rural health clinics or critical access hospitals. There are no rural emergency hospitals in these regions. UNR Med’s mission, called ‘A Healthy Nevada,’ aims to provide essential health services to these communities.
UNR Med recently received federal grants totaling $3.7 million. The funds will help expand medical training and health care delivery, with a focus on rural, tribal, and homeless populations. The grants include a $750,000 Rural Residency Program Development grant to start a family medicine residency track at Banner Churchill Community Hospital in Fallon. A $2.6 million Medical Student Education Program grant will support rural and tribal training for medical students over two years. Another $430,000 grant will help create a street medicine curriculum for family medicine residents.
These training programs build on the Student Outreach Clinic (SOC), which has been student-led since 1966. The SOC gives medical students, including first-year students, clinical experience while serving uninsured or underinsured people. The clinic has expanded to rural communities and Reno’s homeless population. About 95% of medical students volunteer at the clinic each year. The Rural Outreach Clinic, part of the SOC, now provides full-service care such as physical exams, bloodwork, and immunizations in locations like Yerington, Lovelock, and Silver Springs…