A group of Georgetown graduate and medical students opened Washington, D.C.’s first student-organized free health clinic, located in Southwest D.C., today.

Under the guidance of Matthew Levy, director of community pediatrics at Georgetown University Hospital, the H.O.Y.A. Clinic at D.C. Village will operate every Tuesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. for the residents of D.C. Village Emergency Shelter for Homeless Families.

“The H.O.Y.A. Clinic is dedicated to serving the families at D.C. Village,” said Patricia Notario (MED ’10), one of the coordinators of the clinic.

Notario said the clinic will eventually be open more than one day per week.

The idea for the clinic originated two years ago when Levy, while working with the KIDS Mobile Medical Clinic at D.C. Village, noticed that there was a severe need for healthcare in the shelter. Last year, 50 graduate and physiology students and first- and second-year medical students began making plans for the clinic. Six coordinators were picked after an application process administered by Levy; they oversee all administrative duties and the operation of the clinic as a whole through subcommittees. This year’s coordinators include Sean Levy (MED ’10), Katie McKenna (MED ’10), Karla Polk (MED ’10), Patrick Tierney (MED ’10), Zach Wallace (MED ’10) and Notario.

“Our patients at D.C. Village will have access to the same patient services and quality of care as any patient who comes to the hospital at Georgetown,” Notario said.

The Hoya Clinic received the majority of its initial funding through the National Coalition for the Homeless. In addition, the committee members fundraised through venues such as the IronMed Charity Triathlon, an annual event run by the Georgetown University School of Medicine. They also received a Caring for Community Grant from the Association of American Medical Colleges and a CATCH Grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“There is a tremendous student fundraising effort,” Notario said.

For the first three weeks of the clinic’s operation, only sick patients will be allowed to walk in for treatment. After this initial period of time, all patients will be able to make appointments for regular check-ups. Patients will only be billed if they have insurance and will never need to pay out of their pockets. The clinic will be run by 12-15 people each night, with at least one attending physician on hand at all times and several medical students on rotation. The student volunteers all have received training in order to properly handle all situations, Notario said.