Ferris State University Pharmacy students are supporting a free medical clinic on Big Rapids’ east side that helps residents who don’t have access to health insurance.

Faculty and students serving through Ferris State’s Rowe Pharmacy Care Clinic make contributions of care and managed support in a collaborative arrangement with Hope House Free Medical Clinic.

Hope House, 405 South Third Street in Big Rapids, provides limited medical care to uninsured adults.

“College of Pharmacy faculty member Jeff Bates began the collaboration in 2013,” said Michelle Kelly, an associate professor of Pharmacy Practice. “Now, as then, I believe Pharmacy students find Hope House a great educational space.”

Kelly, a Ferris alum, participated in this outreach as a student. The other faculty liaison to Hope House is Mark Young, who is also a graduate of Ferris’ Doctor of Pharmacy program.

“Dr. Thomas Wright has been with Hope House since 2006, and we established a collaborative practice agreement with their physicians,” Young said. “Disease State Management means we can dispense and provide vaccines, along with our pharmacy staff being able to write prescriptions for clients with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or those in need of support for smoking cessation.”

“The Disease State Management aspect of our service began in 2017,” Kelly said. “We supplied prescriptions that the doctors on site had prescribed before that.”

Young said College of Pharmacy and College of Arts, Sciences and Education students volunteer to join him and Kelly as part of the Hope House health support team.

“We have seen those studying Pre-Pharmacy, on up to fourth-year Pharmacy students take part in this program,” Young said. “They go from being observers of DSM plan development to creating their own treatment proposals, with approval from Dr. Kelly and myself. We are always able to make use of their abilities.”

“The Hope House Free Medical Clinic may offer students a smaller patient volume than other rotations or settings, which can be a valuable experience, especially as they begin their patient interactions,” Kelly said. “It allows our students to build relationships with faculty, as well as with local patients.”

Hope House also makes client referrals to Ferris’ Dental Clinic and University Eye Center, offering support for their care from those operations. Click here for more information on the Pharmacy Care Clinic.

Hope House provides basic medical care, lab testing, Medicaid application assistance, x-rays, spiritual support, mental health counseling, and referrals for dental exams and eye exams.