Watch the MAP Clinic video here.
May 12 was a big day for George Mason University and the Manassas Park Community. The Mason and Partners Clinic “cut the gauze” on a new permanent building in Manassas Park. Thanks to the generous grant by the Potomac Health Foundation and the hard work of the many MAP clinic partners, health care services can now be expanded from one to five days a week in Manassas Park.
Over the past two years, CHHS School of Nursing Professors Dr. Caroline Sutter and Dr. Rebecca Sutter have worked tirelessly to bring their vision of an academic-practice partnership to reality. What started off as a room in the community center to provide physicals for children to start school turned into a clinic capable of treating a range of issues and helping families avoid unnecessary trips to the emergency room.
R. Sutter explains that they practice interprofessional care and can see anything from acute illnesses, such as allergic findings, to chronic disease management (hypertension, diabetes) and behavioral health issues (depression, anxiety). “One of the biggest roles we have is helping with navigation of our health care system. Its disjointed nature—let alone for the most vulnerable in our community—really requires that high touch intervention to connect them with partners and resources within the community itself.”
With the support of its partners, the MAP Clinic has expanded to two additional full clinic locations (Falls Church and Springfield-Franconia), two co-located extension sites at the Prince William County Community Service Boards, and one co-located extension site at the Prince William County Health District in Woodbridge.
The current clinics have provided nearly $1.1 million per year in unreimbursed care for uninsured and underinsured community members. True to the academic-practice partnership model, these clinics also provide critical training for Mason’s students in the School of Nursing and departments of social work; nutrition; health administration, policy, and informatics; psychology; and others. In conjunction with their standard curriculum, students practice a holistic approach to health care that uses evidence-based practices.
As these students enter the work force, their experience helps them stand out among their peers. “One of the most important things about the MAP Clinic initiative is that our students learn to work together, in partnership, to successfully impact health outcomes,” C. Sutter explains. “The Mason and Partners Clinic teaches collaboration, not competition, and in today’s complicated health care system, there’s no better learning opportunity for our students.”