Clinic Could See Patient Influx
Demand is expected to increase at a Sacramento clinic that provides no-cost, culturally sensitive medical care and interpreter services to patients if the county Board of Supervisors approves a measure banning undocumented immigrants from receiving nonemergency medical care, the Sacramento Bee reports. Supervisors will vote on the measure this month.
The Shifa Community Clinic, which offers the no-cost clinic once a week, is one of six student health clinics associated with the University of California-Davis Medical Center. The Shifa clinic primarily serves low-income Middle Eastern and South Asian patients.
College and medical students, as well as community members, volunteer at the clinics to provide interpreter services in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Farsi and other languages. A volunteer physician oversees medical care (Geron, Sacramento Bee, 8/16).