The KU School of Medicine-Wichita students who run the JayDoc Outreach Clinic on north Broadway will definitely never be accused of wasting space. On a recent Thursday, five laptops took up every inch of space around a table in the clinic's tiny office. Throw in a printer, shelves full of supplies, a coatrack, and dorm-size fridge and there was just enough room for occupants to squeeze by each other.  

But the students don't spend too much time crowded together. Instead they're in one of the clinic's three examination rooms, seeing patients who either aren't covered by insurance or face other obstacles in receiving medical care.  

Now just over a year old, the clinic grew out of discussions initiated two years ago by Claire Thomas and Christina Bourne, now fourth-year students. They had volunteered to help give health screenings as part of the annual service fair at Century II. The screenings gave people referrals to health care providers. "We thought, wouldn't it be awesome if we could see them right now, downtown, where they don't have to find their way to us?" Thomas said. "We want to eliminate one of their barriers to health care."  

The original JayDoc Community Clinic, started a decade ago by Wichita's medical students, is housed in the Guadalupe Clinic on south St. Francis, only a few miles away. But even that distance can be an issue for someone whose only means of transportation is their own two feet.  

Thomas and Bourne initially thought a mobile clinic might work. But working with Dr. Scott Moser, then the medical school's faculty advisor for JayDoc, and Dave Gear, executive director of Guadalupe Clinic, they settled instead on a building next to the Lord's Diner that was owned by Catholic Charities.  

From the very beginning last September, students knew the arrangement was temporary, since plans called for the building to be demolished to accommodate the expansion of the Lord's Diner. Interfaith Ministries offered the students their current site, a couple blocks to the north at 841 N. Broadway. The clinic is housed in the rear part of a building, which is also used as a women's shelter. It's not as big or visible as their previous location, but offers some positives.  

"It was built as a clinic, which has some advantages," including sinks and tile (instead of carpet) in the exam rooms, said Letisha Ferris, a third-year student who shares clinic executive director duties with Thomas. Its history as a clinic goes back to the 1970s when it was Broadway Medical Clinic. Since then, it's been used to provide medical care both by Hunter Health Clinic and Interfaith Ministries, although recently it's been vacant.  

The clinic is open from 5-9 p.m. on Thursday nights. Patients are seen on a first come, first served basis. They're asked to make a $5 donation, although they receive services regardless of their ability to pay. Funding comes in the form of donations by KU School of Medicine-Wichita staff, Guadalupe Clinic and the community.  

On a recent Thursday, Thomas and Ferris were joined by two other students -- Joe Sliter and Brent Diebert -- plus Dr. Richard Egelhof, who was volunteering as attending physician. The students saw a variety of patients, from a plumber with a broken hand to a cook with a sore back to a man with hypertension. The clinic can prescribe medication, counsel patients on behavior and also give referrals to other health providers that can perform X-rays and other services.  

In the case of the plumber, the clinic was able to provide a referral to Dr. George Lucas, one of the city's best-known orthopedic surgeons. Lucas, who served as director of the orthopedic residency program at the medical school, recently retired and plans to begin volunteering at JayDoc.  

Treating homeless people means students encounter lots of skin and foot problems, bed bug bites, and a laundry list of conditions related to exposure, drug use and poor hygiene. One patient came in with an infected abscess caused by the removal of a chest tube. Students drained and packed the abscess and gave the man supplies to keep it clean at home. "That could have potentially put him back in the hospital," Ferris said.  

To get out word of the clinic's new location, students have contacted emergency room personnel at Wesley Medical Center and Via Christi Health. Dave Gear, executive director of Guadalupe Clinic, is impressed by the students' work.  

"They have to find enough students and attending physicians to make this work every week," he said. "The students run the clinic."  

Egelhof, who started his career at Broadway Medical Clinic, said the students are "almost always right" in their diagnoses and care plans for patients and their effort makes a big difference in the lives of some people.  

"It really helps the underserved in this town as well as the students' skill level," Egelhof said. "That's what brings me back here. I get to help in their training and see their enthusiasm. It's a win-win for me."