It turns out that hauling the specialized equipment for a vision clinic — operated by KU School of Medicine-Wichita’s student-led JayDoc Community Clinic — down from Topeka might have been one of the easier parts in getting it up and running.

A patient referred to the monthly vision clinic at Wichita’s Guadalupe Clinic might not realize the months of work and refinement that have gone into making care available from volunteer ophthalmologists and medical students. Or in bringing about a key intertwined service, optometry, that not only screens Guadalupe’s patients for serious conditions but also provides eyeglasses improving sight and quality of life.

“If it’s something that's more benign, patients can get vision correction and go on with their lives. But if we look at the patient and identify there's something going on in the back of the eye, we can now schedule them to see an ophthalmologist,” said Candice Metzinger, fourth-year medical student and JayDoc’s executive director.

The need was evident, as half of Guadalupe’s patients have diabetes and all its patients are uninsured and less able to access health care, increasing the potential for vision loss. Cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and other conditions sneak up and rob sight.

“You really discover a lot of health issues through vision care — high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, a whole range of things,” said JV Johnston, Guadalupe’s executive director.

Anita Campbell, M.D., is an ophthalmologist who volunteers at the clinic and helped recruit fellow specialists. All too often, Campbell has seen the consequences of conditions left untreated, such cataracts costing a patient his job and leading to a retreat from life — until a neighbor encouraged the man to see an eye doctor.

“If a patient doesn’t have the right resources, they can lose their vision for an unnecessary reason. If we can support them and prevent that, they'll live happy and productive lives,” said Campbell.

Meeting yet another need

For nearly two decades, JayDoc Community Clinic has supported the Guadalupe Clinic’s mission by providing primary care every Saturday morning at the clinic on South St. Francis.

And over the years, JayDoc’s student volunteers have seen care gaps and helped fill them by expanding care to Monday nights and adding monthly specialty clinics for women’s health and diabetes. They responded the same way in mid-2021 when a Wichita State University student and vision tech, Kat Ho, brought the idea of a vision clinic to JayDoc, personally knowing the need as eye disease had blinded her father.

Setting up a specialty clinic proved challenging, requiring different doctors, equipment and processes. JayDoc leadership sorted out clinic procedures, created referral processes, worked closely with Guadalupe and, thanks to Metzinger, her father, sister and a pickup, transported that donated equipment from Topeka. Through JayDoc’s efforts and those of Campbell and others, a pool of eight to 10 ophthalmologists was assembled.

Guadalupe Clinic was on board from the start. They carved clinic space from an unused storage room, found contractors who donated renovations and, more recently, obtained $150,000 in grants and donations. That money is allowing Guadalupe to hire a part-time optometrist and assistant, who’ll provide eyeglass services and screening and referrals to the vision clinic’s ophthalmologists.

The vision clinic is staffed by one ophthalmologist and three to four medical students. The clinics take place on the third Wednesday evening of the month, serving two to four patients with referrals. Students arrive first and learn how to use equipment and do fundoscopic exams and conduct other tests including the Snellen chart (the one with the ever-smaller letters) and peripheral vision. They do a visual assessment of patients’ eyes as well.

“They will then meet with the doctors to present the patient's case and their thoughts. And then the physician will determine what they need to do moving forward. So it's like a puzzle that all the students get to participate in,” said Marisa-Nicole Zayat, a third-year medical student who directs the vision clinic.

“She has done an excellent job with processes and clinic practices,” Metzinger said of Zayat. “She’s moved a lot forward for the clinic — taken what she has been given and ran with it.”

Gaining skills, providing care

With the clinic, patients receive care and students build skills in a field, ophthalmology, covered more by lecture than hands-on training in medical school.

“It's so specialized and hard for medical schools to take the time to teach it, since only a few students will ultimately choose the field,” Zayat said. “But it's a beautiful specialty, and I'm glad that we have this clinic for students to explore the field and see if they have an interest in pursuing it moving forward.”

Rick Kellerman, M.D., JayDoc Community Clinic’s faculty adviser, has been impressed by the medical students’ persistence and ability to put the clinic on sustainable ground.

“If Congress worked together as effectively as the JayDoc board, half of the problems in the United States would go away,” said Kellerman, chair of the Department of Family & Community Medicine at KU School of Medicine-Wichita. “The students are remarkable in their ability to take a problem, look at all sides of the issue and come to a decision.”

Since Guadalupe Clinic operates fully on donated care, Johnston appreciates all that JayDoc contributes, from primary care to vision care.

“First, the credibility they and the medical school give us is extremely valuable. That really makes a difference. Second, they serve our patients. It’s a win-win,” Johnston said.

How to support JayDoc Community Clinic

If you would like to support JayDoc Community Clinic’s mission of providing care to the uninsured, please consider making a donation. The clinic also accepts pharmaceutical samples and other types of donations. Learn more on the JayDoc Community Clinic website.

Above, left: Before JayDoc Community Clinic’s ophthalmology night at Guadalupe Clinic begins, Bob Nelson, O.D., volunteer from Wichita Family Vision, discusses the evening’s goals with Jonathon Hogge, fourth-year medical student, and Blaine Wertz, second-year medical student.