For adults over 60, the center’s three primary care physicians are all experienced geriatricians, specially trained to provide care for an aging population.

I met Jennifer Hammonds, LCSW, when I was in high school in West Frankfort, Ill., through her work on SIU School of Medicine’s Care-A-Van – a school health clinic on wheels that serves high schools in rural southern Illinois, including my alma mater. This is an edited version of our conversation about funding battles, the pandemic’s effects on issues mental and material and the overlooked importance of high-quality adolescent health care. - Olivia Weeks What’s a Care-A-Van? About 16 years ago our Carbondale area residency program director for Southern Illinois University School of Medicine’s

I met Jennifer Hammonds, LCSW, when I was in high school in West Frankfort, Ill., through her work on SIU School of Medicine’s Care-A-Van – a school health clinic on wheels that serves high schools in rural southern Illinois, including my alma mater. This is an edited version of our conversation about funding battles, the pandemic’s effects on issues mental and material and the overlooked importance of high-quality adolescent health care. - Olivia Weeks What’s a Care-A-Van? About 16 years ago our Carbondale area residency program director for Southern Illinois University School of Medicine’s

I met Jennifer Hammonds, LCSW, when I was in high school in West Frankfort, Ill., through her work on SIU School of Medicine’s Care-A-Van – a school health clinic on wheels that serves high schools in rural southern Illinois, including my alma mater. This is an edited version of our conversation about funding battles, the pandemic’s effects on issues mental and material and the overlooked importance of high-quality adolescent health care. - Olivia Weeks What’s a Care-A-Van? About 16 years ago our Carbondale area residency program director for Southern Illinois University School of Medicine’s

Community health worker Nicol Moore met Amber Hinkle, 41, during a 2021 neighborhood celebration in Comer Cox Park. Amber had chronic leg pain and had become discouraged with her physician. “I’d bring things to my doctor’s attention but they were always getting swept under the rug, or they were misdiagnosed,” Hinkle says. Moore told her about SIU’s Access to Care program and offered to find her a new physician. Within a week, Moore had connected her with Dr. Patrick Long, a resident physician at SIU’s Center for Family Medicine in Springfield. He examined Hinkle and enlisted the help of SIU

Community health worker Nicol Moore met Amber Hinkle, 41, during a 2021 neighborhood celebration in Comer Cox Park. Amber had chronic leg pain and had become discouraged with her physician. “I’d bring things to my doctor’s attention but they were always getting swept under the rug, or they were misdiagnosed,” Hinkle says. Moore told her about SIU’s Access to Care program and offered to find her a new physician. Within a week, Moore had connected her with Dr. Patrick Long, a resident physician at SIU’s Center for Family Medicine in Springfield. He examined Hinkle and enlisted the help of SIU

Community health worker Nicol Moore met Amber Hinkle, 41, during a 2021 neighborhood celebration in Comer Cox Park. Amber had chronic leg pain and had become discouraged with her physician. “I’d bring things to my doctor’s attention but they were always getting swept under the rug, or they were misdiagnosed,” Hinkle says. Moore told her about SIU’s Access to Care program and offered to find her a new physician. Within a week, Moore had connected her with Dr. Patrick Long, a resident physician at SIU’s Center for Family Medicine in Springfield. He examined Hinkle and enlisted the help of SIU

Community health worker Nicol Moore met Amber Hinkle, 41, during a 2021 neighborhood celebration in Comer Cox Park. Amber had chronic leg pain and had become discouraged with her physician. “I’d bring things to my doctor’s attention but they were always getting swept under the rug, or they were misdiagnosed,” Hinkle says. Moore told her about SIU’s Access to Care program and offered to find her a new physician. Within a week, Moore had connected her with Dr. Patrick Long, a resident physician at SIU’s Center for Family Medicine in Springfield. He examined Hinkle and enlisted the help of SIU

Are you looking for a fun and rewarding volunteer opportunity? The Smith Alzheimer’s Center is seeking volunteers to assist staff with our community outreach programs. Designed to be fun, active and engaging, these programs fill a vital need for early-stage dementia patients and their caregivers. Join us for an informational meeting on Monday, August 25 to learn more about how you can volunteer as well as meet current program volunteers. Volunteers do not need to have a healthcare background. You just need a desire to make a difference in someone else’s life in our community. This can be also

SIU Medicine, ThinkFirst, and the Illinois Department of Transportation invite you to have your car seats checked by nationally certified child passenger safety technicians. Please bring the child who will be riding in the car seat, the vehicle's owner's manual, and the car seat instruction manual, if possible. Car seat checks take approximately 30 minutes. For more information, contact Megan at meairheart34@siumed.edu .