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University
Muslim Medical Association (UMMA) Free Clinic
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Two
blocks from the epicenter of the 1992 Los Angeles riots stood a symptom
of what ailed the city--an abandoned childcare facility, closed due
to violations, where prostitutes and drug dealers sold their wares.
Ashes, violence, and the momentum from the events that year gave way
to the dreams of eight Muslim UCLA students. Together they established
the University Muslim Medical Association (UMMA) Free Clinic on that
very spot.
Altaf
Kazi, MD, a pediatrician at Kaiser Permanente's (KP) West LA Medical
Center, was one of the eight students. He said the idea for a free clinic
had been fermenting in their minds long before the riots, in keeping
with one of the five pillars of their Islamic faith--to perform acts
of charity. The riots called attention to the third-world-like conditions
of the LA inner city and opened doors for them.
Councilwoman
Rita Walters, now retired, was impressed with the "naïve students
with no political affiliation," Dr Kazi said. "She took us
in in an almost motherly way, mentored and helped us."
Before
long, Walters' staff secured $650,000 of city funds for the project.
The city bulldozed the decrepit building and assigned an architect to
work with the students to build the clinic from the ground up. Dr Kazi's
father, Mohammad Kazi, an architect, had already designed the clinic
free of charge. The students University Muslim Medical Association (UMMA)
Free Clinic got a $700,000 grant from the US Housing and Urban Development
Department to run the clinic and gathered more than $150,000 in equipment
and supplies from corporate donations. Drew University and UCLA School
of Medicine stepped in as sponsors and continue to use the clinic as
a teaching institution for third- and fourth-year medical students.
KP has donated more than $32,500 to the clinic since 2000.
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Altaf
Kazi, MD, examines patient at UMMA free clinic.
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UMMA
Free Clinic opened in 1996. Today, it is a state-of-the-art primary
care facility with a patient base of 6000 adults and children--all below
the federal poverty line. Five paid employees, including one part-time
physician, and a pool of more than 100 volunteer physicians, nurses,
physician assistants, and students make up the clinic's staff. Dr Kazi
clocked in 705 volunteer hours in 2001 as an attending pediatrician,
faculty supervisor-preceptor, and board member. UMMA is beginning a
feasibility study to expand the site in the near future.
"The
physical facility and how it's set up, run, and managed is more on a
par with a private practice that you would find in West Los Angeles
than a community-run free clinic," Dr Kazi said.
A
patient at UMMA added, "It's not a run-down place. It's a nice
place, set up like a regular doctor's office where you have regular
insurance. They treat you like that. That makes a big difference, when
you're treated with dignity."
The
community's support spoke loud-est during the post-September 11 climate
of distrust toward Muslims. When the clinic organized a blood drive
to benefit victims in New York, more than 100 donors showed up in a
single day.
"Rather
than receive backlash from the community," said Dr Kazi, "they
helped us show that this project is a shining example of Islamic humanitarianism
and compassion. If you go in and roll up your sleeves and help people
in need, they respect you."
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UMMA
Free Clinic is seeking physician volunteers. For more information,
please contact
Altaf Kazi, MD, AMKazi@scal.kp.org
or 323-857-2548.
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"It's
a humble step in fulfilling a religious obligation for me as well as
making a significant contribution to the lives of children and families
in need," he said. "It's satisfying on an emotional, spiritual,
and professional level. As physicians, we all went into medicine to
serve people, but the medical arena nowadays is very businesslike. UMMA
Free Clinic reminds me why I went into medicine in the first place."
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